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flV  3415  .S6  1907 
Soothill,  William  Edward, 

1861-1935. 
A  typical  mission  in  China 


A    MISSION    IN    CHINA 


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^  SEP  26 1951    ^ 


A  TYPICAL  MISSION 
IN  CHINA 


By 


W.  E.  SOOTHILL 

TRANSLATOR    OF   THE   WKNCHOW    NEW   TESTAMENT 

AUTHOR    OF  "  THE   STUDENT'S    POCKET   CHINESE    DICTIONARY  ' 

COMPILER   OF   THE    WENCHOW   ROMANISED   SYSTEM 

ETC. 


New  York 


Chicago 


Toronto 


Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 


London        and 


Edinbukgh 


HER 

WITHOUT    WHOM    THE     WORK    HEREIN 

RECORDED    WOULD    NOT    HAVE 

BEEN    ACCOMPLISHED, 

AND    TO 

THE    TWO 

FROM     WHOM     WIDE     SEAS     DIVIDE. 


PREFACE 

This  book  is  written  chiefly  for  those  who,  through  many  years, 
have  loyally  lent  their  support  to  the  work  recorded  in  the 
following  pages,  and  whose  right  it  is  to  know  more  fuUy  that 
their  faith  has  been  met  with  faithfulness.  It  was  commenced 
eighteen  months  ago  in  response  to  repeated  requests,  and 
with  numerous  and  prolonged  periods  of  interruption,  its 
compilation  has  occupied  the  spare  moments  of  that  length 
of  time. 

Herein  are  recounted  some  of  the  experiences  met  with,  and 
methods  followed  during  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century's  work 
amongst  the  Chinese,  a  work  that  has  been  rewarded  by  nearly 
ten  thousand  conversions,  and  an  increasing  confidence  in  the 
universal  advent  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

Its  principal  object  is  to  depict  our  own  Mission,  as  typical 
of  many  others.  In  addition  five  chapters  will  be  found  at 
the  end,  giving  in  brief  an  account  of  the  Chinese  religions, 
religions  so  involved  and  mutually  intermingled  that  close 
investigation  and  considerable  reading  have  been  necessary 
to  anything  like  a  clear  and  succinct  delineation.  The  whole 
closes  with  a  short  history  of  Christianity  in  China. 

It  is  the  misfortune  of  a  book  of  this  character  that  great 
demands  are  made  on  the  first  personal  pronoun.  If  the 
reader  finds  that  letter  too  oft  repeated,  his  sympathy  is 
craved  in  consideration  of  the  number  of  times  it  has  been 
suppressed. 

Chapter  and  verse  for  passages  quoted  have  not  been 
deemed  necessary,  but  grateful  acknowledgment  is  hereby 
made  of  help  received  from  Williams'  "  Middle  Kingdom," 


viii  PREFA  CE 

Legge's  "  Religions  of  China "  and  his  "  Chinese  Classics," 
Canon  MacClatchie's  "  Chinese  Cosmogony  "  and  his  "  Yih 
King,"  Eitel's  "  Lectures  on  Buddhism,"  Sir  Monier 
Williams'  "  Buddhism,"  Balfour's  "  Chwang-tsz,"  the  China 
Missions'  Handbook,  and  Abh€  Hue's  "  Christianity  in 
China." 

To  my  brother,  the  Rev.  Alfred  Soothill,  B.A,,  I  am  in- 
debted for  seeing  this  book  through  the  press.  As  he  has 
never  been  in  China  he  undertakes  a  large  responsibility,  and 
I  cheerfully  leave  him  to  bear  the  brunt  of  all  criticism,  both 
of  his  errors  and  my  own. 


Methodist  Free  Church  Mission, 
Wenchow,  China,  February  1906. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

I.  Introductory:  The  Missionary        ....  13 

II.  Pioneering .  24 

III.  Evangelization 37 

IV.  Church  Organization 57 

V.  Pastoral  Visitation 75 

VI.  Discipline        .       .       . 92 

VII.  Types  of  Converts 100 

VIII.  Native  Sermons 121 

IX.  Women's  Work 135 

X.  Medical  Work 149 

XI.  Opium 164 

XII.  Educational 178 

XIII.  Bible  Translation 194 

ix 


CONTENTS— Continued 


XIV.  Typical  Temples    .  

XV.  The  Native  Religions:  Their  Founders 
XVI.  The  Native  Religions:  Confucianism 
XVII.  The  Native  Religions:  Taoism 
XVIII.  The  Foreign  Religions:  Buddha;  Mahomet 
XIX.  The  Foreign  Religions:  Christianity     . 


PAGE 
208 
228 
238 

255 
271 
284 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Our  City  Church Frontispiece 

East  Suburb  and  Twin  Pagodas 28 

On  the  Road 48 

Our  District  Meeting  Representatives,  1904     ...  72 

In  Prison 82 

Our  Mission  Boat 112 

Crystal  Lily  Church 128 

Mrs.  Soothill's  Thursday  Class 138 

New  Blyth  Hospital 156 

Opium  Smokers 168 

Our  College 190 

Our  Students,  1906 192 

Dr.  Morrison  and  His  Translators 196 

Confucian  Temple,  Peking 244 

One  of  the  Cycle  Gods 266 

The  Buddhist  Trinity 276 

xi 


A    MISSION    IN    CHINA 


INTRODUCTORY:  THE  MISSIONARY 

"  Many  are  the  called,  but  few  " — choose. 

The  first  requisite  of  a  Mission  is  a  missionary,  and  the  first 
essential  of  a  missionary  is  his  "  call."  Training  may  add  much, 
but,  apart  from  that  inward  call  which  presses  from  the  resist- 
ing heart  the  hard-wrung  response,  "  Here  am  I,  Lord,  send 
me,"  training  profiteth  Uttle.  How  many  are  the  called  God 
alone  knows.  How  few  are  the  chosen  every  missionary 
knows  too  well.  As  with  swelling  heart  he  looks  around  on  his 
vast  parish,  and  down  upon  his  own  feeble  hands,  what  would 
be  his  despair  without  the  conviction  that  God  had  sent  him  ! 

Yet  the  number  of  men  in  and  out  of  the  ministry,  who  have 
at  one  time  or  another  heard  the  call,  resisted  it  until  they 
"  made  sure,"  and  lived  to  regret  when  too  late  is  far  from 
small.  A  President  of  the  Free  Church  Council,  for  instance,  a 
man  honoured  above  his  fellows,  in  his  opening  address  con- 
fessed with  intense  emotion,  "  For  myself,  my  greatest  mistake 
in  life  is  that  I  did  not  go  out  as  a  missionary.  I  would  give 
the  world  now  to  have  done  it."  Of  such  the  ministry  knows 
not  a  few.  Thank  God  for  the  noble  work  he  and  they  have 
done  at  home  ;  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  richer  for  it ;  but 
their  urgent  message  to  younger  brethren  is,  "  Quench  not  the 
Spirit." 

Nor  need  this  message  be  confined  entirely  to  the  one  who 
has  heard  the  Voice,  for  it  applies  with  equal  force  to  ministers 
and  others  who  take  it  upon  themselves  to  hinder  the  direct 
action  of  the  Spirit.  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  are  the  mainstay 
of  Missions.  Few  know  as  well  as  the  missionary  what  self- 
sacrifice  they  cheerfully  make  for  the  extension  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  abroad,  but  unbounded  though  their  sympathy  is, 


/ 


14  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

not  all  of  them  display  it  wisely.  Nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago,  an  able  minister,  whom  we  will  call  "  D.D.,"  for  he  had 
been  honoured  with  that  degree  many  years,  hearing  of  my 
offer  for  China,  urgently  advised  me  not  to  go  there,  but,  if  I 
must  be  a  missionary,  to  go  to  Japan,  as  the  Japanese  were  so 
very  much  pleasanter  to  Uve  amongst  than  the  "  dirty  Chinese." 
A  young  minister,  eminently  fitted  for  the  field,  once  offered 
for  a  certain  Mission.  By  request  he  consulted  two  ministers 
of  experience,  and  both  ventured  to  "  quench  the  Spirit,"  on 
the  ground  that  he  had  received  special  training  for  the  home 
work — as  if  his  special  training  would  have  been  wasted  abroad! 

Again,  the  condition  of  mind  of  many  who  ought  to  know 
better,  is  evidenced  by  a  left-handed  compliment  once  paid  to 
a  very  intimate  friend  of  mine,  by  a  minister  for  whom  I  have 
a  high  esteem,  and  who,  if  he  has  any  recollection  of  the 
incident,  will  forgive  my  introducing  it  here  for  purposes  of 
general  enlightenment.  Standing  on  the  steps  of  Exeter  Hall, 
out  of  the  kindness  of  his  heart,  he  said,  "  I  am  surprised  you 
went  to  China.  Why,  you  would  have  done  well  at  home  !  " 
Alas,  poor  Yorick  !  Misunderstood  by  the  heathen  abroad 
and  his  friends  at  home.  As  if  any  decent  missionary  goes  out 
through  fear  of  failure  in  England  !  What  young  man  of 
twenty-one  is  troubled  with  such  fears  ?  Are  they  not  the 
fruit  of  riper  experience  ? 

Let  no  blame  attach  to  the  above-named  minister  for  this 
attitude  of  mind.  His  views  were  not  uncommon  a  few  years 
ago,  but  are,  we  trust,  now  dying  out  along  with  the  "  romance 
of  Missions."  Happily  we  are,  at  last,  reaching  the  practical, 
business  stage,  and  Mission  Boards  see  clearly  that  a  man  only 
suited  to  an  inferior  post  at  home  is  hardly  fit  to  be  the  chosen 
representative  of  the  Church  amongst  the  intelligent  and 
critical  races  of  the  Orient. 

Given,  then,  the  call  and  the  willing  surrender,  there  can  be 
no  regrets.  Should  death  come  soon,  'tis  but  an  earlier  and  a 
higher  call,  a  more  complete  surrender.  Should,  as  sometimes 
happens,  not  life,  but  only  a  part  of  it — the  sacrifice  of  buoyant 
health — be  the  price  of  his  vocation,  then,  the  loss  of  the  whole 
being  greater  than  the  loss  of  its  part,  a  grateful  heart  still  gives 
thanks  for  the  much  or  little  that  can  be  done  with  what  is  left. 

None  the  less,  however,  is  it  the  duty  of  every  Missionary 


INTRODUCTORY:    THE  MISSIONARY      15 

Society — with  funds  too  limited  for  the  pressure  of  its  claims, 
much  less  of  its  dreams — to  make  health  a  question  of  moment. 
Moreover,  its  responsibility  to  its  supporters,  and  even  to  the 
applicant  himself  is  sufficiently  weighty,  without  adding  an 
unnecessary  failure  to  the  burden.  Residence  in  a  tropical 
climate  may  speedily  develop  an  already  existing  organic 
disease,  which  in  a  milder  zone  might  have  lain  dormant  for  a 
lifetime.  Hence,  the  Board  must  accept  its  Medical  Officer's 
advice,  or  dismiss  him. 

Albeit,  he  who  has  definitely  surrendered  himself  to  the  call, 
will  recognise  that  doctors  are  not  infallible,  and  will  not  com- 
placently submit  to  the  first  adverse  medical  opinion  he 
receives.  There  are  men  at  home  who  have  hidden  their  joy 
at  escape  behind  half  a  sheet  of  doctor's  notepaper,  without 
any  attempt  to  seek  confirmation,  or  otherwise,  from  a  prac- 
titioner of  wider  experience,  perhaps,  who  has  liimself  lived  on 
the  field  to  which  they  were  called.  There  are  other  men,  who, 
in  defiance  of  medical  advice,  have  gone  abroad  to  live  lives 
of  useful  service,  some  even  improving  in  health  thereby. 

Let  him,  therefore,  who  has  heard  the  Divine  Voice  calling, 
not  lightly  hearken  to  a  human  voice  forbidding.  Though  not 
suited  to  one  field,  he  may  be  to  another ;  and  even  should 
human  opinion  finally  close  all  other  doors,  there  yet  remains 
open  at  home  a  door,  "  great  and  effectual,"  for  serving  the 
field  abroad.  Thus,  he  may  still  answer  the  call  by  a  surrender, 
which,  though  possessed  of  less  glamour,  and  withal  of  less  to 
enervate,  yet  contains  within  it  the  possibility  of  equal  service. 
When  a  man  hears  the  Divine  Voice,  let  him  offer  for  the  field 
to  which  it  calls,  and  let  him  so  surrender  himself  that  a  first, 
or  even  a  second  refusal  will  not  be  accepted  as  final.  Should 
his  perseverance  not  be  rewarded,  he  may  justffiably  recognise 
that  God  has  indeed  called  him  for  life  service  in  the  Foreign 
Office  at  home. 

The  kind  of  man  required  abroad  varies  as  much  as  at 
home.  Three  qualities,  however,  are  essential  to  every  success- 
ful worker.  True  Piety,  Common-Sense,  and  Enthusiasm  ;  two 
more  are  also  "called  for  in  almost  equal  degree,  a  good  ear  for 
vowel  and  consonant  sounds,  and  ability  to  express  his  meaning 
clearly. 

I.  There  is  a  spurious  piety  which  emasculates  a  man,  and 


i6  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

makes  even  a  native  "  despise  "  his  "  youth."  And  there  is 
a  true  piety  despised  by  none,  which  ennobles  its  possessor 
and  makes  him  a  "  Man  in  Christ  Jesus."  Blatancy  and 
forwardness  will  never  be  prominent  features  in  the  life  of 
one  moved  by  true  piety.  He  neither  strives  nor  cries,  and 
perhaps  his  voice  is  not  heard  in  the  streets,  but  he  keeps 
his  soul  before  God  and  his  character  before  men,  and  so 
doing,  whatever  influences  surround,  he  is  strong — strong 
enough  to  transform  them. 

Without  manly  piety,  the  powers  of  paganism  around  him 
will,  as  they  do  so  many  of  his  countrymen  in  exile,  draw  down 
the  tide  of  his  spiritual  and  even  moral  life  to  lowest  ebb, 
leaving  him  stranded,  a  virtual  wreck.  Seldom  will  he  find 
those  external  buttresses  of  faith  and  virtue  to  which  he  has 
all  his  life  been  accustomed  ;  within  himself,  and  in  the  silent 
heavens  above,  he  must  find  all  his  soul  requires.  He  goes  to 
be  the  light  of  his  surrounding  world,  a  light  which  makes  the 
encircling  darkness  but  the  gloomier,  black  enough  to  quench 
any  light  not  fed  direct  from  the  Great  Source  of  Radiant  Life. 
To  spiritual  leadership  he  is  called  ;  in  inspiring  others  his  life 
must  be  spent.  Alas  !  for  the  man  who  has  known  but 
borrowed  light ;  whose  radio-activity  has  been  derived  solely 
from  meeting  with  his  fellow-Christians,  and  who  has  never 
known  the  enriching  power  of  the  chamber  of  the  soul,  the 
Communion  with  Him  who  seeth  in  secret  and  rewardeth  in 
the  open  with  ennobling  influence  and  magnetic  power. 

Not  only  is  there  little  to  help  and  cheer,  but  on  every  side 
are  eyes,  many  eyes,  eyes  which  apparently  see  nothing,  yet 
which  see  everything ;  and  lips  which,  behind  his  back,  pro- 
bably nickname  him  for  whatever  peculiarity  asserts  itself. 
One  man  of  my  acquaintance  was  known  as  "  Old  wait-a-bit," 
because  of  his  habit  of  procrastination  ;  another  as  "  Turnip- 
head,"  because  of  his  obtuseness  ;  and  a  few  months  ago  I  read 
of  three  others,  Hving  in  the  same  compound,  who  were  re- 
spectively known  as  "Bath  every  day  man,"  "Bath  once  a  week 
man,"  and  "  Never  bath  at  all  man."  But  better  be  known  as 
procrastinating  or  dense,  or  even  unwashed,  than  be  known  as 
"  Angry  Face,"  as  another  was  dubbed,  in  consequence  of  his 
frequent  exhibitions  of  ire.  One  such,  no  longer  in  China,  was 
detested  by  the  Chinese,  and  despised  by  his  colleagues,  for  his 


INTRODUCTORY:    THE  MISSIONARY       17 

fits  of  bad  temper  ;  the  irritability  of  the  East  was  too  often 
upon  him. 

"  Wine,  women,  wealth,  and  wrath  "  are  the  four  vices  as 
enumerated  by  the  Chinese,  and  the  passionate  nature  of  the 
people  justifies  the  inclusion  of  "wrath"  in  the  quartette. 
Hence,  there  is  much  in  what  a  native  clergyman,  the  Rev. 
Y.  K.  Yen,  said  at  the  Shanghai  Missionary  Conference  in  1890, 
"  China  is  a  poor  place  for  a  missionary  to  come  to,  in  order  to 
learn  patience."  How  much  there  is  to  try  the  temper  every 
missionary  knows,  for  his  life  is  full  of  petty  irritation,  and  well 
is  it  if  he  can  bear  constantly  in  mind  that  with  his  own  char- 
acter he  builds  his  church.  "  Like  parson,  like  people  "  is 
nowhere  so  true  as  in  the  Mission  field.  There  are  numbers  of 
converts  who  are  amusing  copies  of  their  pastors,  idiosyn- 
crasies and  aD. 

Let  it  not  be  thought  from  the  exceptional  instances  of 
crotchetiness  given  above  that  such  is  a  common  characteristic 
of  missionaries,  for  in  point  of  fact  there  is  no  more  forbearing 
set  of  men  in  the  world  than  they.  Moreover,  no  man, 
not  even  the  gentle  reader,  is  justified  in  thinking  himself 
incapable  of  such  lapse  from  grace.  The  men  referred  to, 
despite  their  peculiar  way  of  showing  it,  loved  the  Lord  and 
their  fellow-men  as  much  as  the  reader  does,  but,  like  himself, 
they  had  "  this  treasure  in  earthen  vessels."  Tropical  heat, 
malaria,  dyspepsia,  liver — how  easily  they  cause  aberration 
from  that  courtesy  and  kindliness  which  are  a  mark  of  manli- 
ness and  true  piety  !  And  how  readily  these  physical  de- 
pressors receive  the  blame,  instead  of  it  being  cast  on  neglect 
of  self-discipline  before  the  Throne  of  the  Heavenly  Grace  ! 
True  piety  begins  at  home,  in  the  heart ;  and  not  possessed  of 
this,  whatever  his  other  gifts,  the  missionary  will  bring  men  to 
change  their  altars  with  but  little  change  of  character. 

The  first  year  or  two  of  a  missionary's  life  are  often  the  most 
miserable  in  his  career — much  loneliness,  much  heartache,  many 
a  suppressed  tear ;  but  let  him  remember  that  "  he  that  en- 
dureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved  '*  to  a  great  salvation. 

2.  Good  common  business  sense  is  of  much  more  value  than 
any  amoimt  of  irresponsible  zead.  Without  it,  the  missionary 
will  only  too  easily  become  the  tool  of  crafty  natives,  who  will 
play  upon  his  susceptible  kindness  and  his  hatred  of  oppression. 


i8  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

until  he  has  done  injustice  to  many  in  assisting  one,  probably 
unworthy  of  his  aid.  Without  common-sense  he  will  indis- 
criminately treat  all  creeds  as  equally  effective  for  salvation,  or 
will  become  a  faddist,  and  make  some  minor  doctrine  an 
essential  article  of  faith,  putting  all  men  on  to  his  tight-rope 
track,  where  few  except  himself  can  balance. 

A  devoted  and  godly  man,  who  had  lived  some  years  in  a 
lonely  out-station,  recently  hesitated  about  continuing  his 
work.  He  feared  that  every  Chinaman  to  whom  he  delivered 
his  message,  and  who  did  not  become  converted,  was  thereby 
doomed  to  an  unending  hell.  This  gloomy  thought  took  all 
the  joy  from  his  preaching.  He  had  become  morbid,  nor  can 
we  seriously  blame  him  ;  the  weight  of  the  heathen  had  so 
pressed  in  upon  him  that  he  had  forgotten  he  was  commissioned 
to  proclaim,  not  a  sentence  of  condemnation,  but  "  glad  tidings 
of  great  joy  which  shall  be  to  all  people." 

Without  common-sense,  a  missionary  will  neglect  his  own 
health  and  become  a  burden  to  his  colleagues,  his  friends,  and 
himself,  as  did  a  certain  young  man,  who  on  being  urged  to 
wear  a  sun-hat  and  carry  an  umbrella,  smiled  serenely,  and 
quoted,  "  The  sun  shall  not  smite  thee  by  day."  The  recorder 
says  that  he  is  now  at  home  with  an  enfeebled  brain,  which,  one 
surmises,  can  never  have  been  very  strong. 

Without  common-sense,  a  man  will  change  his  methods  of 
work  so  often  that  his  people  are  quite  unable  to  keep  pace  with 
him,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  he  may  become  so  conservative 
that  his  Church  will  become  as  lifeless  as  himself.  There  are 
"  cranks  "  at  home  ;  there  are  "  cranks  "  also  in  the  Mission 
field ;  and  few  of  them  succeed  in  doing  enough  good  work 
with  one  hand  to  cover  the  harm  they  do  with  the  other. 

3.  Enthusiasm,  energy,  enterprise  are  as  indispensable  to  a 
successful  missionary  as  they  are  to  a  successful  business  man. 
Who  has  not  known  the  man  of  robust  piety  and  good  judg- 
ment, who,  nevertheless,  when  upon  his  feet  was  utterly  dead- 
alive  ?  Who  has  not  known  the  man,  otherwise  admirable, 
whose  slowness  and  deliberation  have  taken  all  the  life  out  of 
his  sermons  ?  Such  an  individual  is  trying  enough  in  England, 
but  the  man  who  is  to  convince  the  unsympathetic  pagan  must 
himself  first  be  fired  with  his  message  before  he  can  warm  the 
pagan  heart.     There  are  good  men  on  the  Mission  field  whose 


INTRODUCTORY :    THE  MISSIONARY      19 

dulness  and  lack  of  glow  from  the  first  impress  upon  the  pagan 
that  this  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  is  a  lifeless,  soulless  thing  of  no 
use  to  him.  The  man  is  good,  the  message  is  good,  but  both  are 
wearisomely  dreary.  Of  all  men  in  the  world,  the  missionary 
is  the  very  last  who  can  afford  to  be  without  inspiration  and 
inspiring  energy.  The  object  of  his  coming  is  to  put  life  into  the 
dead,  and  all  the  hot  enthusiasm  of  an  ardent  zeal  is  called  into 
play  to  ensure  success.  "  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  gotten 
by  violence,  and  the  violent  take  it  by  force."  The  dull, 
dreary  man,  uninspired  and  uninspiring,  is  hopeless  as  a  leader, 
for  his  voice  will  never  awaken  the  dead.  If  he  have  private 
means,  he  may  be  useful  on  the  field  as  an  auxiliary,  but 
societies  cannot  afford  to  send  such  men  to  the  front  as 
officers* 

4.  A  good  ear  for  consonant  and  vowel  sounds,  while  not 
such  a  sine  qua  non  to  success  as  the  two  preceding  qualifica- 
tions, is  nevertheless  a  necessity  to  effectiveness  in  preaching 
and  teaching.  A  man  of  judgment  may,  with  inferior  linguistic 
talents,  superintend  even  admirably  the  work  of  others,  but 
both  in  pulpit  and  desk  he  will  be  severely  handicapped.  Men 
who  cannot  learn  to  enunciate  their  own  language  correctly 
have  but  limited  success  with  another  tongue. 

The  first  study  of  infancy  is  pronunciation,  followed  by  the 
alphabet.  In  like  manner  the  first  study  of  an  oriental  lan- 
guage is,  or  should  be,  phonetics,  and  an  alphabetic  mode  of 
writing  them.  Professor  Sayce,  in  pointing  out  the  enormous 
saving  that  would  result,  both  in  time  and  money,  from  the 
introduction  into  our  home  schools  of  a  reformed  phonetic 
system,  tells  us  that  it  is  not  so  much  a  reformed  system  of 
spelling  that  is  needed  as  a  reformed  alphabet,  and  of  this  the 
linguist  abroad  is  painfully  aware.  There  are  many  words, 
oriental  and  occidental,  that  can  be  spelt  but  very  approxi- 
mately with  twenty-six  letters,  and  a  man  trained  only  in  our 
chaotic  English  alphabet  will  find  his  ear  much  exercised  in 
discovering  those  shades  of  sound,  without  a  knowledge  of 
which  his  speech  wiU  be  but  "  pidgin  "  to  the  end  of  his 
career. 

Moreover,  a  knowledge  of  the  value  of  the  aspirate  is  of 
really  first-rate  importance,  where,  as  a  missionary  has  recently 
pointed  out,  the  difference  between  "  Ye-su  ai  wo  "  and  "  Ye-su 


20  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

hai  wo  "  makes  all  the  difference  between  "  Jesus  loves  me  " 
and  "  Jesus  narms  me,"  and  where  unaspirated  tien  means 
"  mad,"  while  aspirated  t'ien  means  "  heaven."  Faults  of  this 
description  are  even  worse  than  being  the  possessor  of  a  brogue, 
for  these  alter  the  entire  meaning  of  the  word,  whereas  brogue 
is  largely  a  matter  of  intonation.  A  German,  a  Frenchman, 
a  Scotchman — perhaps,  if  we  confessed  the  truth,  an  English- 
man also — can  often  be  recognised  through  his  very  best 
Chinese.  There  is  an  old  story  recently  resurrected  by  the 
above-named  missionary,  which  tells  of  a  Scotchman  unac- 
quainted with  Chinese,  who  went  to  hear  a  fellow-countryman 
preach  to  his  converts.  On  coming  away  he  is  said  to  have 
enthusiastically  declared  that  he  had  listened  to  the  finest  bit 
of  Scotch  he  had  heard  since  leaving  "  the  tail  o'  the  Bank." 
A  brogue  may  be  forgiven,  for  it  is  mostly  intonation,  but 
mispronunciation  leads  to  much  misunderstanding.  As  a 
test  of  ability,  therefore,  a  short  course  of  phonetics,  Pitman's 
or  son^e  other,  with  a  teacher  of  languages,  will  soon  give  the 
candidate  evidence  of  his  capacity  to  learn. 

A  musical  ear,  while  always  advantageous,  may  be  dispensed 
with,  for  good  musicians  are  found  with  the  most  rudimentary 
ideas  of  enunciation,  and  excellent  linguists  are  also  met  with 
whose  only  lapse  from  linguistic  grace  is  when  they  pronounce 
m-u-s-i-c — "  discord." 

When  a  missionary  has  learnt  the  language  so  well  that  he 
can  mix  in  all  kinds  of  company  and  understand  their  con- 
versation, his  life  has  many  compensations.  The  Chinese 
sometimes  say  of  a  man  who  has  thoroughly  learnt  their 
language,  "  Why  !  he  even  understands  our  swear  words  " — 
in  itself  a  liberal  education,  although  not  one  of  the  compensa- 
tions. To  stand  before  an  unsympathetic,  even  semi-hostile 
crowd,  and,  after  telling  of  the  love  of  God  and  His  salvation, 
hear  the  crowd,  all  the  opposition  evaporated  out  of  it,  breathe 
an  audible  sigh  and  ask  for  more — that  is  one  of  the  compensa- 
tions, perhaps  the  greatest. 

A  man  with  a  command  of  the  language  can  ensure 
attention,  even  under  circumstances  that  would  be  resented 
in  an  indifferent  speaker.  Imagine,  though  as  a  most  unusual 
example  of  missionary  methods,  the  following  scene  : — 

A  Chinese  street ;  a  conjurer  showing  off  his  tricks,  probably 


INTRODUCTORY:    THE  MISSIONARY      21 

the  famous  mango  trick  amongst  them ;  a  crowd  standing 
around  him.  A  missionary  steps  up  with  books  to  sell  and 
a  message  to  deliver.  The  crowd  marks  his  presence,  but  is, 
like  the  missionary  himself,  interested  in  the  growing  mango 
tree.  The  conjurer  finishes.  The  collection  has  been  taken 
several  times — before  the  completion  of  each  trick — so  the 
missionary  will  not  be  robbing  the  artist  by  availing  himself  of 
the  assembled  crowd.  Some  one  asks  him  if  foreigners  can  do 
such  clever  tricks  as  these.  "  Would  you  like  to  see  me  do 
one  ?  "  he  asks.  The  crowd  presses  round,  and  will  be  de- 
lighted to  see  the  foreigner  do  a  trick.  "  Can  you  take  your 
teeth  out  and  put  them  back  again  ?  "  he  asks  a  man  with  a 
mouth  full  of  gleaming  ivories.  "  Well  I  can — there  !  "  and 
out  they  come.  "  Ah-ya  !  "  says  the  crowd.  In  they  go 
again,  and  "Ah-ya!  ah-ya!  it  cries  again.  "Shall  I  now 
take  off  my  head  for  you  ? "  he  asks.  "  Oh  no,  your 
honour,  no-o-o-o  !  "  says  the  crowd.  "  Well,  here  I  have 
some  books  that  help  a  man  to  do  something  more  wonderful 
than  take  out  his  teeth,  or  even  unhinge  his  head.  They  tell 
how  to  change  the  heart  of  a  man,  and  make  him  love  good 
rather  than  evil."     And  so  on. 

An  indifferent  speaker  could  not  have  performed  this  little 
play,  and  had  he  attempted  it  would  probably  have  left  behind 
an  impression  more  productive  of  harm  than  his  books  of  good. 

5.  Lucidity,  or  the  ability  to  express  thought  clearly,  is  a 
gift  ol  great  value  to  every  preacher,  and  especially  to  the 
missionary.  He  finds  the  famous  Frenchman's  mot,  that 
language  is  meant  to  hide  thought,  of  very  little  comfort,  for 
his  thought  is  already  hidden  without  need  of  further  screen. 
Phrase-makers,  and  those  with  whom  a  flow  of  words  counts 
for  ideas,  find  themselves  lost  when  they  have  lost  their  voca- 
bulary. When  what  Uttle  thought  there  may  be  is  robbed  of 
its  flowery  garb  and  picturesque  verbiage,  and  demands  ex- 
pression in  the  simplest  of  terms,  then  a  man  realises  the  value 
of  clearness  of  thought  and  expression.  An  intelligent  China- 
man was  once  heard  discussing  the  respective  merits  of  two 
missionaries.  "  Mr  Jones  does  keep  to  his  text,"  he  said, 
"  but  Mr  Brown — whoever  can  make  out  what  he  is  driving 
at !  To  begin  with,  it  is  difficult  to  understand  his  speech, 
and  as  to  what  he  means  we  haven't  the  least  idea."     From 


22  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

which  it  is  evident  that  your  Chinaman,  even  if  he  cannot 
himself  preach,  knows  what  preaching  should  be.  It  is  given 
to  few  to  be  eloquent  in  their  own  tongue  ;  it  is  given  to  fewer 
still  to  be  eloquent  in  a  foreign  tongue  ;  but  if  a  man  has  ideas 
to  express,  and  can  express  them  clearly  in  English,  it  augurs 
well  for  his  clearness  of  expression  in  another  language,  and 
lucidity  is  an  excellent  substitute  for  oratory.  Choiceness  of 
phraseology  is  reasonably  expected  at  home — lucidity,  by 
preference,  abroad. 

Given,  then,  these  foundation  qualities,  let  College  and 
Professor  add  as  much  as  the  man  is  capable  of  receiving,  for 
the  more  his  natural  qualifications  are  developed  the  better  is 
he  likely  to  do  his  work. 

Whether  the  day  is  dawning  when  Free  Churchmen  will 
have  as  intelligent  ideas  in  regard  to  the  politics  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  as  they  have  of  "  the  United  Kingdom"  time  will 
soon  show.  What  is  there  but  deplorable  obtuseness,  and 
lack  of  the  charity  and  spirit  of  Christ,  to  prevent  the  union  of 
all  our  denominational  Mission  Boards  in  one  powerful  Free 
Church  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Free  Church  Council !  The  "  foreign  policy"  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  might  then  receive  consideration  adequate  to  the 
enormous  interests  involved.  "  Not  by  might,  nor  by  power," 
says  one  ;  no,  but  "  that  they  all  may  be  one."  was  the 
pleading  and  reiterated  cry  of  our  Lord  on  the  very  eve  of 
His  crucifixion,  in  the  only  extenso  prayer  of  His  that  has 
been  bequeathed  to  His  Church. 

Were  the  Church  awake  to  this  its  glorious  Day  of  Oppor- 
tunity, it  would  merge  its  secondary  items  of  difference  in 
a  mighty  foreign  policy  that  would  embrace  the  world.  If 
an  aggressive  foreign  policy  is  able  to  unite  a  divided  nation, 
why  not  the  divided  Church  ?  A  first  step  towards  such  a 
supreme  consummation  might  very  well  be  made  in  the 
establishment  of  a  College  for  Missionaries  in  Oxford  or 
Cambridge.  There,  candidates  from  all  the  Churches  could 
receive  a  year  or  more  of  special  training,  under  the  guidance 
of  men  versed  in  Comparative  Religions  and  the  science  of 
Mission  work,  while,  at  the  same  time  they  would  have 
opportunity  for  linguistic  study,  under  the  direction  of  eminent 
resident  Professors  of  oriental  languages.     Moreover,  there  are 


INTRODUCTORY :    THE  MISSIONARY      23 

always  missionaries  on  furlough  to  lecture  on  the  practical 
side  of  the  work. 

It  is  hard  for  an  untrained  young  man  to  go,  say,  to  China, 
and  be  cast,  possibly  alone,  into  a  Chinese  city,  surrounded 
by  men,  mostly  pagan,  who  see  nothing  of  the  power  that 
struggles  for  expression  in  his  broken  language.  A  man  will 
always  sooner  or  later  reveal  his  virtus,  his  manliness.  His 
very  responsibility  helps  him,  for  he  knows  that  he  is  not 
only  "  the  representative  of  the  West,"  but  the  vicar,  the 
representative  of  Christ.  Nevertheless,  the  man  who  is  a 
man  is  vastly  the  better  for  training  ;  the  weak  brother 
absolutely  needs  it.  A  missionary,  speaking  of  his  own  Mission, 
once  observed,  "  It  is  not  so  much  more  men  we  need  as  more 
Man."  Certain  it  is  that  a  year  with  his  fellows  would 
develop  the  manliness  in  many  a  youth  whom  even  a  pagan 
feels  he  can  despise ;  and  the  Church  can  only  afford  to  send 
out  fools  of  the  Pauline  type. 

As  Robert  Speer,the  present  able  Secretary  of  the  American 
Presbyterian  Missionary  Society,  puts  it,  the  men  needed  are 
those,  "  who  can  furnish  the  most  powerful  sympathetic  ties 
between  East  and  West,  at  a  time  when  diplomacy  and 
commerce  are  irritating  and  alienating,"  and  "  who  are  fitted 
for  the  establishment,  organisation,  and  direction  of  great 
national  churches,  which  are  to  surpass  in  membership  all 
the  present  Churches  of  the  West." 

Let  no  man  despair,  however,  who  possesses  the  qualifications 
indicated  in  this  chapter,  not  even  though  he  has  no  oppor- 
tunity of  going  to  College.  The  Mission  field  is  an  admirable 
University,  with  many  Professors,  black,  white,  and  yellow, 
all  fully  qualified  to  teach  him  many  things  he  does  not  know, 
and,  above  aU,  how  to  live  his  life  and  do  his  work. 


n 

PIONEERING 

"  We  remember  the  fleshpots  which  we  did  eat  in  Egypt  freely ;  the 
cucumbers,  and  the  melons,  and  the  leeks,  and  the  onions,  and  the 
garlic ;  but  now  our  soul  is  dried  away." 

Pioneering,  in  any  line  of  life,  involves  difficulty,  distress, 
discouragement,  and  especially  is  this  the  experience  of  a 
pioneer  missionary's  early  years.  Nor  is  he  generally  dowered 
with  buoyant  hope  above  his  fellows,  though,  happUy  for  him- 
self and  his  work,  his  call  has  shaken  his  soul  to  unwavering 
steadfastness,  and  enriched  him  with  a  calm  trust,  sufficient 
for  triumph  over  obstacles  that  often,  even  to  himself,  seem 
insurmountable.  The  thought  of  the  sublime  faith  and  per- 
severance of  that  great  man,  Robert  Morrison,  and  of  those 
who  followed  him,  is  ever  an  inspiration  to  the  successful, 
and  a  tonic  to  the  depressed  worker. 

Robert  Morrison  was  indeed  the  chosen  of  the  Lord,  the 
Apostle  of  China.  Setting  out  a  century  ago,  in  1806,  he 
was,  if  it  be  possible,  in  even  worse  case  than  St  Paul  when 
he  went  forth  to  preach  Christ  to  the  Mediterranean  world. 
Paul  had  with  him  Barnabas  and  Mark  ;  he  was  well  acquinted 
with  the  languages  required,  and  generally  found  friends  and 
hearers  already  versed  in  and  attached  to  the  Sacred  Book 
which  he  expounded.  Not  so  with  Robert  Morrison.  To  his 
lot  it  fell  to  come  out  alone,  with  never  a  fellow-worker  to  cheer, 
nor  a  Chinese  believer  to  welcome  him  ;  with  little  knowledge 
of  the  language,  no  Word  of  God  from  which  to  preach,  and 
perhaps,  worst  of  all,  with  the  knowledge  that  there  were  at 
least  three  hundred  million  people  who  wanted  neither  him 
nor  his  message,  and  yet  to  whom  he  was  sent,  single-handed. 
Hopeless  task  !     Fatuous  presumption  !     Impossible  attempt ! 

?4 


PIONEERING  25 

'  Do  you  think  you  can  convert  the  Chinese  ?  "     "  No,  but 
God  can." 

The  subHmity  of  his  faith  was  only  equalled  by  the  patience 
with  which  he  pursued  his  task.  Knowing  that  he  would  never 
with  mortal  eye  see  the  ingathering,  none  the  less  diligently 
did  he  plough  and  sow,  in  the  sure  and  certain  hope  of  some- 
where, somehow,  joining  in  the  crowning  song  of  harvest 
home.  The  sheaves  already  reaped  in  one  brief  century, 
unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the  Church,  bear  irresistible 
testimony  to  the  wisdom  of  his  faith,  and  the  manifest  intention 
of  God  towards  this  people.  Let  him  who  will  still  doubt, 
and  let  him  who  dares  stand  aside  and  refuse  to  share  with 
God  in  carrying  out  His  world-embracing  plan. 

The  obstacles  in  pioneering  are  many.  Like  the  man  who 
goes  out  into  the  wilds  and  has  forests  to  clear,  roots  to  dig 
up,  virgin  land  to  plough  and  sow,  his  own  cabin  to  build, 
and,  worst  of  all,  solitude  to  bear — so,  in  pioneer  Mission  work, 
there  is  enough  to  daunt  the  spirit  and  challenge  the  will. 
How,  at  times,  the  pioneer  envies  his  fellow-student  who  has 
gone  to  a  church  and  a  work  all  ready-made  for  him  ! 

His  first  duty  is  to  get  a  roof  over  his  head.  There  is  a 
wide  difference  between  Africa  and  China  in  this  respect. 
In  Africa  he  must  build ;  in  China,  rent  or  buy ;  and  the 
difficulty  is  about  equal.  In  Africa  he  builds,  and  begs  the 
people  to  come  and  settle  near  him.  In  China  he  rents,  and 
wishes  his  neighbours  would  occasionally  go  and  leave  him  in 
quietness.  When  the  Rev.  Thomas  Wakefield — one  of  the 
most  charming  men  I  ever  met — was  first  introduced  to  East 
Africa  by  Dr  Krapff,  the  doctor,  on  landing,  said  to  him  and 
his  colleagues,  "Now,  the  first  thing  for  a  missionary  to  do 
is  to  look  for  wood  and  water."  Excellent,  thought  Mr  Wake- 
field ;  without  wood  how  could  they  build  a  house  ;  without 
water — what  could  any  one  do  without  water  !  "  But,"  said 
Mr  Wakefield  a  quarter  of  a  century  later,  "  we  have  found 
that  somethnig  more  than  wood  and  water  is  wanted  in  order 
to  a  successful  Mission.  We  want  people."  The  missionary 
who  comes  to  China  has  nothing  to  complain  of  in  that  respect. 
If  he  be  a  pioneer,  his  arrival  is  the  signal  for  curious  crowds 
to  assemble,  that  would  try  the  equanimity  of  the  gentlest. 
Nor  is  it  many  years  since  the  crowds  themselves  were  anything 


26  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

but  gentle,  and  in  numbers  of  places  the  pioneer  soon  made 
an  exit  more  precipitate  than  dignified. 

Here  in  Wenchow,  when  Mr  George  Stott  and  Mr  J.  A. 
Jackson  made  their  entry  in  November  1867,  they  lodged 
for  a  time  in  a  native  inn.  As  long  as  they  merely 
lodged  they  were  not  seriously  interfered  with,  but  they 
had  no  sooner  rented  a  small  house,  with  much  difficulty, 
than  an  angry  crowd  broke  in  the  gate,  and  only  Mr 
Stott's  courageous  bearing  prevented  their  being  expelled. 
Ten  years  later,  when  Mr  Exley  opened  our  own  Mission  here, 
he  was  able  to  buy  a  good-sized  house,  which  he  altered 
for  a  dwelling,  adding  a  small  street  chapel  and  a  school- 
room alongside. 

The  missionary  having  at  last  found  a  shelter  under  "  his 
own  vine  and  fig  tree,"  even  though  as  yet  he  cannot  say 
"  none  daring  to  make  him  afraid,"  his  next  duty  is  to  learn 
the  language.  For  the  student  of  Chinese  to-day  there  are 
many  valuable  aids,  but  it  was  not  by  any  means  always  thus. 
Indeed,  the  books  used  by  the  present-day  student  have  almost 
all  been  published  during  the  last  ten  years. 

Imagine,  then,  our  youth  set  down  in  an  out-of-the-way 
station,  impatient  to  deliver  his  message,  and — almost  before 
he  has  ploughed  and  sown — to  begin  gathering  the  harvest 
which  he  has  come  to  reap.  He  is  surrounded  by  countless 
people — the  city  swarms  with  humanity.  In  the  narrow  streets 
busy  pedestrians  unceremoniously  jostle  each  other  as  they 
energetically  push  along,  earning  their  daily  rice  by  the 
activity  of  their  feet.  Half-naked  coolies  stream  with  per- 
spiration as  they  stagger  under  backbreaking  burdens,  or 
swing  gracefully  along  under  a  lighter  load.  Chair-bearers 
pant  breathlessly  as  they  screech  to  the  loiterer,  "  Chair, 
Chair."  Women  toddle  towards  some  temple  with  their 
bundle  of  joss-sticks,  "  mincing  as  they  go."  Boys  chatter 
and  squabble  on  their  way  to  school.  "  Hurry  along,  sorrow 
and  song." 

Myriads  of  them,  and  one  white-faced,  retiring,  half-afraid 
young  man  !  Their  customs  are  different,  their  tastes  are 
different.  Their  mental  and  moral  equipment  varies  greatly 
from  his.  They  cannot  conceive  why  he  is  here — for  no  good 
purpose,  that  is  certain.     Come  to  teach  them  !    This  "  corpse- 


PIONEERING  27 

coloured  "  youth  come  to  teach  them,  the  heirs  of  Confucius 
and  of  all  the  sages  !     Ridiculous  ! 

Fortunately  the  conceit  is  not  limited  to  one  side.  The 
pale-faced  lad,  little  aware  of  their  ridicule,  has  also,  despite 
his  shyness,  a  pretty  good  conceit  of  himself  and  a  better 
conceit  of  his  message,  for  is  it  not  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation  ?  Nor  is  his  pride  in  his  message  ill  placed  ;  for, 
however  much  the  Chinaman  may  hitherto  have  disliked 
change,  he  nevertheless  does  change,  and,  as  time  passes,  both 
he  and  the  youth  lose  something  of  their  inherent  self-conceit, 
and  fill  the  empty  corner  with  mutual  respect  and  even 
esteem. 

Eager,  then,  to  deliver  himself  of  his  Message,  the  youth  sets 
to  work  at  the  language,  and  in  a  month  or  two,  whenever 
you  meet  him  in  his  walks  abroad,  you  find  his  pockets  bulging 
with  it  in  printed  form,  the  work  of  more  experienced  men 
in  other  parts  of  China.  Perhaps  his  efforts  to  accompany 
the  presentation  of  the  tract  with  a  few  broken  sentences 
are  a  total  failure.  The  recipient  mistakes  his  carefully  pre- 
pared words  for  "  foreign  talk,"  and  crushes  the  youth  with 
the  simple  phrase,  "  Pu  tung,"  "  Don't  understand," — a  phrase 
he  soon  comes  to  understand  only  too  well.  Or  the  man, 
responding  to  the  youth's  too  carefully  enunciated  Chinese, 
may  say  in  his  local  dialect,  "  Fu  tung  fa  'o,"  "  Don't  under- 
stand foreign  talk,"  literally,  "  barbarian  words  "  !  Possibly, 
despite  the  incomprehensibility  of  his  "  barbarian  words," 
the  tract  is  accepted,  read,  marked,  learned,  and  inwardly 
digested,  and  a  man  is  born  into  the  image  of  the  divine,  a 
mere  embryo  it  may  be,  but  nevertheless,  an  embr57o  with 
new  capabilities,  amongst  which  is  numbered  the  capacity 
to  reproduce  its  species. 

One  beautiful  day,  more  than  twenty  years  ago,  we  were 
seated,  my  wife  and  I,  at  the  foot  of  an  ancient  pagoda,  which 
I  now,  a  thousand  feet  above  it,  look  down  upon  as  I  write. 
Out  of  the  overflowing  kindness  of  our  hearts  we  were  giving 
our  teacher  a  half  day's  holiday— and  taking  one  ourselves. 
Having  hired  a  sampan,  we  soon  found  ourselves  at  the  Twin 
Pagodas,  picturesque  emblems  of  China's  superstition.  As  we 
sat  there  gazing  on  the  lovely  scene  (for  China  is  one  of  the 
loveliest  countries  on  the  face  of  the  earth),  a  young  farmer 


28  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

came  up  with  his  hoe  on  his  shoulder.  There  are  not  many 
places  in  this  part  of  China,  no  matter  how  high  the  mountain 
or  how  broad  the  plain,  where  a  foreigner  can  long  sit  without 
a  native  appearing  on  the  scene.  Our  farmer  stood  stock  still, 
and  stared  in  basilisk  Chinese  fashion  at  the  two  foreigners. 
A  few  remarks  were  passed,  the  usual  tract  produced,  and  the 
man  departed.  Years  passed,  the  incident  had  long  been 
packed  away  in  memory's  lumber  room,  when  one  day  a 
bright-faced  man  marched  into  my  "  study," — a  room  given 
over  much  more  to  the  study  of  Chinese  human  nature  in  its 
many  phases  than  to  the  study  of  books. 

"  Don't  you  know  me  ?  "  he  asked,  as  he  saw  my  inquiring 
glance. 

"  1  fear  I  don't,"  was  my  reply. 

"  Do  you  remember  one  afternoon,  many  years  ago,  sitting 
by  the  pagoda  across  the  river,  and  giving  a  tract  to  a  young 
man  there  ?  " 

"  Now  you  recall  the  circumstance,  I  do." 

"  That  young  man  was  myself,"  he  rejoined.  "  I  took  the 
tract  home,  read  it,  was  deeply  interested,  and  knowing  there 
was  a  Christian  living  not  far  away,  went  to  him  for  further 
information.  He  took  me  to  service  with  him.  I  have  now 
been  a  member  several  years,  and  have  lately  started  Sunday 
services  in  my  own  village." 

Thus,  what  a  young  missionary,  in  his  early  days,  may  not 
be  able  to  do  by  means  of  the  spoken  language,  he  may  succeed 
in  doing  by  means  of  the  written ;  for  in  China  is  found  an 
elaborate  system  of  writing,  picturesque,  terse,  difficult  to 
learn,  somewhat  rigid  in  form,  but  on  the  whole  well  adapted 
to  the  expression  of  thought.  The  missionary  who  is  worth 
his  salt  learns  all  he  can  of  both  written  and  spoken  language  ; 
for  the  possession  of  only  the  vernacular  limits  his  useful- 
ness, the  Chinese  scholar  seeing  in  him  a  person  of  but  mean 
education. 

Our  pioneer,  then,  is  studying  a  hitherto  unexplored 
language,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  dialect,  though  the 
difference  between  it  and  any  other  is  almost  sufficiently 
great  to  constitute  it  a  separate  language.  Let  it  be,  say, 
the  Wenchow  vernacular.  He  finds  himself  seated  with  a 
Chinaman  at  his  side,  and  with  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament 


PIONEERING  29 

in  Chinese  characters,  a  phrase-book  in  the  Mandarin  or 
northern  form  of  the  language,  and  a  Chinese-English  Dic- 
tionary before  him.  He  cannot  recognise  a  single  character  ; 
when  it  is  pronounced  to  him  he  wonders  how  to  spell  it  ; 
having  spelt  it  in  some  fashion  or  other,  his  next  difficulty 
is  to  find  its  meaning,  and  the  one  immediately  following  to 
re-pronounce  it  from  his  own  spelling.  Like  a  beginner  at 
shorthand,  he  at  first  cannot  read  his  own  writing  intelligibly. 
The  best  method  of  spelling,  and  that  adopted  by  most  linguists, 
is  to  use  English  consonants  and  Italian  vowels,  as  far  as  they 
will  go,  and  make  up  what  may  be  lacking  from  his  own  genius 
— but  he  only  discovers  this  later.  When,  after  patient  toil, 
he  has  classified  his  spelling  and  worked  out  a  system,  he 
discovers  that  Chinese  lends  itself  quite  readily  to  phonetic 
"  romanisation." 

It  is  not  long  after  his  commencement  before  he  runs  his 
head  against  the  tones  and  gets  hurt.  They  vary  from  five 
in  the  north  to  eight  in  the  south  of  China.  It  is  quite  possible 
to  talk,  and  make  oneself  generally  understood,  without  a 
knowledge  of  the  tones,  for  rhythm  in  Chinese,  as  in  every 
language,  is  of  even  greater  importance  than  strict  syllabic 
accuracy.  No  man,  however,  can  read  Chinese  characters 
aloud  correctly,  or  in  conversation  lay  stress  on  any  particular 
word,  unless  he  has  a  good  knowledge  of  the  tones.  The 
ordinary  Chinaman  is  quite  unaware  of  their  existence,  and 
even  amongst  the  literati  only  a  small  minority  can  accurately 
designate  them,  yet  no  native  makes  any  mistake  in  actual 
usage. 

We  have  tones  in  English,  but  they  are  arbitrary,  and  every 
man  is  a  law  to  himself.  Take,  for  instance,  the  word  "  What." 
There  is  the  interrogatory  what,  the  surprised  what,  the  drawl- 
ing what,  the  haughty  what.  In  England,  however,  you  may 
what  your  whats  whatever  way  you  will,  and  it  is  still  a  what, 
but  in  China  a  ping  in  one  tone  is  quite  a  different  word  from 
a  ping  in  another  tone,  as  a  well-known  official  is  once  said 
to  have  discovered.  He  was  out  with  a  party ;  the  day  was 
hot ;  so  became  the  champagne.  They  were  tifiining  in  a 
Chinese  inn,  and  ping  (ice)  was  demanded  of  the  innkeeper. 
"  How  much  ?  "  asked  mine  host.  "  A  trayful "  was  the 
reply.     Imagine  everybody's  amusement  when,  after  waiting 

B 


30  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

an  unconscionable  time,  they  saw  brought  in  a  trayful  of  hot 
native  cakes,  also  called  ping,  but  in  a  different  tone. 

Once  upon  a  time  I  had  an  argument  with  a  Christian 
plasterer  whose  conscience  would  not  allow  him  to  waste  my 
money.  The  local  whitewash  possessed  a  yellowish  tinge 
which  did  not  please  me,  and,  having  a  dim  recollection  of 
hearing  that  a  little  blue  powder  mixed  with  the  whitening 
would  whiten  it,  I  said  to  the  plasterer — 

"  Just  go  and  buy  a  little  la,  and  mix  it  with  this  white- 
wash." 

"  La  !  la  wouldn't  mix  with  whitewash." 

"  Oh  yes,  it  would,"  said  youthful  confidence,  "  run  off 
and  buy  some." 

"  It  wouldn't  be  any  good,  and  only  waste  your  money." 

"  Never  mind,"  I  said,  "  I'll  risk  the  waste,  away  you  go." 

"  No,"  said  the  little  man  stubbornly,  "  it  won't  mix." 

Becoming  a  trifle  displeased,  I  looked  up  and  wrote  out  the 
Chinese  character,  handed  it  to  him,  and  said,  "  Now  go  at 
once  and  buy  some  of  that." 

"  Oh  !  "  said  he,  looking  at  the  character,  "  you  said  la — 
wax.  It's  la — blue — you  mean."  Just  the  difference  between 
a  rising  inflection  and  a  sort  of  twirl  in  the  voice. 

Even  during  the  writing  of  this  chapter  I  have  heard  a  lady, 
by  a  slight  perversion  of  pronunciation,  read  from  St  John's 
Gospel,  "  I  am  the  Vine,  ye  are  the  gimlets  !  "  Nevertheless, 
despite  tones  and  other  peculiarities,  Chinese  is  by  no  means 
the  impossible  language  that  some  people  think  it.  A  person 
of  ordinary  linguistic  capacity  can  learn  to  use  it  effectively, 
and  he  who  has  a  gift  for  languages  can  learn  to  speak  almost 
sufficiently  well  to  pass  for  a  native. 

A  certain  missionary,  one  glorious  starlight  night  returning 
from  a  service,  had  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  galaxy  of  beauty  above, 
and  his  mind  so  absorbed  in  their  mysteries,  that  he  turned  too 
soon,  and,  instead  of  entering  the  approach  to  his  own  gate,  ran 
full  tilt  against  the  closed  door  of  a  native  shop.  His  latchkey, 
which  he  had  been  swinging  between  his  finger  and  thumb,  fell 
with  a  clatter  £is  his  body  went  with  a  thud  against  the  door. 
Voices  were  heard  within,  and,  not  caring  for  his  neighbours  to 
see  him  in  so  undignified  a  position,  he  hastily  groped  for  his 
key.     As  luck  would  have  it.  thi-^  had  fallen  down  behind  the 


PIONEERING  31 

lift-up  doorstep.  It  would  never  do  to  leave  his  key,  and 
therewith  his  compound,  at  the  mercy  of  an  outsider,  so  he 
continued  his  search,  but  the  noise  he  made  fumbhng  for  the 
missing  article  still  further  aroused  the  inmates.  He  summoned 
up  courage  to  knock,  on  which  a  clamour  arose  within.  Being 
well  known  to  them,  he  announced  his  name  and  address,  and 
begged  them  to  show  a  light.  "  Open  the  door,  indeed !  " 
shouted  shrill  female  voices,  "  lost  your  key,  have  you  ?  a 
pretty  story  !  Go  away  at  once,  or  we'll  rouse  the  neighbours  ! 
His  entreaties  only  made  the  outcry  greater,  and  the  call, 
"  Thieves  !  thieves  !  "  was  raised.  What  a  position  !  Who 
will  blame  him  for  incontinently  fleeing  !  Reaching  home,  he 
knocked  up  his  servant,  who  brought  a  lamp,  and,  despite  a 
renewed  alarm,  found  the  missing  key,  on  which  they  departed  I 
to  safety.  The  only  comfort  he  gathered  from  this  mishap  i 
was,  that  at  last  he  had  acquired  the  language  well  enough  to  ' 
be  mistaken  for  a  native — even  for  a  native  thief  ! 

Our  young  missionary  soon  begins  to  find  his  Chinese  char- 
acters by  no  means  uninteresting  study.  Though  at  first 
they  all  seem  alike,  he  soon  discovers,  not  without  a  sigh,  that 
they  are  of  myriad-shaped  variety.  But  as  time  goes  on,  he 
discovers  a  certain  amount  of  system  running  throughout  their 
mazes,  and,  being  of  a  studious  nature,  soon  learns  from  obser- 
vation, as  well  as  from  reading,  that  originally  they  were 
ideographic,  or  pictures  of  the  object  represented.  The  limits 
of  such  a  system  were  necessarily  soon  reached,  and  he  finds 
that  a  phonetic  element  has  been  introduced  into  the  formation 
of  the  characters.  Heartily  does  he  wish  that  the  Chinese  had 
adopted  the  Egyptian  method,  and  taken  a  score  or  more  of 
their  principal  signs  to  form  an  alphabet.  It  would  have 
saved  them  the  labour  of  forming  tens  of  thousands  of  char- 
acters, and  himself  the  difficulty  of  learning  so  many  wearisome 
columns  of  them. 

The  words  for   sun  and  moon  were  originally  (©)  and   1^        z^- 

respectively.     In  course  of  time  all  characters  have  become 

square  in  shape,  so  sun  is  now  0  and  moon    R.     When  the 

two  are  united,  thus,  H^  ,  they  mean  clear,  bright.     Again  l^ 


32  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

formerly  represented  a  hill.      It  has  since  become  |1|  .  ^^^ 

whenever  it  combines  with  another  character,  shows  that 
the   new  character  thus  formed  has   some  connection  with 

hills.  Thus  ^  ,  hill  over  rock,  means  a  crag,  or  precipice. 
Again,  7[i^  represents  a  tree,  or  wood,  and  when  a  character  is 
met  with,  of  which  this  sign  forms  a  part,  either  the  name  of  a 
tree,  or  some  article  made  of  wood  is  indicated ;  e.g.,  i^  re- 
presents the  paint  tree,  while  ;^  means  a  board,  and  ;^ 

means  building  materials.  The  latter  half  of  each  of  these 
three  is  used  as  a  separate  character,  but  in  combination  with 

^  it  gives  the  sound  to  the  new  character  thus  formed,  in 

other  words  becomes  its  phonetic.  These  are  simple  in- 
stances, and,  of  course,  in  so  ancient  and  complex  a  language 
as  Chinese,  great  modifications  have  occurred.  Nevertheless, 
for  working  purposes,  it  may  be  taken  as  a  rule  that  the 
characters  consist  of  two  parts,  one  indicating  the  meaning, 
called  the  Radical,  the  other  indicating  the  sound,  called  the 
Phonetic. 

Our  student  finds  that  in  the  Imperial  Chinese  Dictionary 
there  are  forty  thousand  of  these  signs.  Despair  seizes  him, 
which  is  only  partially  mitigated  on  finding  that  nearly  thirty 
thousand  may  be  regarded  as  obsolete,  and  that  of  the  remain- 
ing ten  thousand,  he  may  be  well  content  with  less  than  half. 
Four  thousand  is  still  a  large  figure,  and  very  few  Europeans 
are  able  to  acquire  even  this  reduced  vocabulary.  The 
majority  are  satisfied  to  have  a  nodding  acquaintance 
with  the  less  than  two  thousand  found  in  the  New  Testament, 
and  with  these,  only  for  reading,  and  not  for  writing  pur- 
poses. Every  student  knows  that  it  is  vastly  easier  to  construe 
Latin  than  to  compose  it ;  much  more  is  this  the  case 
with  the  Chinese  written  language,  from  which  the  spoken 
differs  in  construction,  in  the  words  used,  and  especially  in 
terseness. 

Our  student,  however,  is  ambitious,  and  aims  at  the  stars. 
May  he  have  strength  and  patience  to  pursue  his  aerial  flight. 
In  the  meantime,  having  formed  his  system  of  "  romanisation," 


PIONEERING  33 

he  can  now  read  his  own  writing  with  increasing  accuracy. 
He  has,  moreover,  struggled  through  a  chapter  of  St  John's 
Gospel  in  character,  and  endeavours  with  the  aid  of  his  teacher 
to  translate  it  into  the  spoken  tongue;  for  if  his  lot  be  cast  much 
south  of  the  Yangtsz,  the  new  Testament  he  uses  is  not  in  the 
everyday  speech  of  his  people.  As  he  proceeds,  he  compiles  a 
vocabulary  of  terms  in  common  use.  In  this  he  is  probably 
aided  by  considerable  theatrical  display  on  the  part  of  his 
teacher,  who  may  sit  on  a  chair  to  indicate  the  meaning  of  the 
word  sit,  may  even  lie  on  the  floor  to  indicate  the  recumbent 
position,  possibly  snore  loudly  to  express  the  idea  of  sleep,  and 
who,  to  all  appearances,  would  stand  on  his  head  if  he  could,  to 
explain  the  meaning  of  upside  down. 

When  a  few  months,  possibly  a  year,  has  passed,  the  pressure 
that  St  Paul  experienced  comes  upon  him,  and  "  Woe  is  me," 
he  feels,  "  if  I  preach  not  the  Gospel."  Already  he  has  had 
numerous  visitors,  stammered  a  few  words  to  them,  and  sent 
each  away,  literally  with  a  tract  up  his  sleeve.  Happy  for  him 
if  he  has  a  native  preacher,  even  though  from  another  station, 
and  perhaps  speaking  a  different  tongue.  Already  a  few 
people  have  begun  to  meet  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  unable  to 
wait  longer,  he  prepares  his  first  sermon  and  delivers  it.  A 
missionary  has  recently  described  his  first  Chinese  sermon  as 
consisting  of  the  following  words,  "  This  book,  this  here  book, 
this  book  is  good,  this  book  is  good  book,  this  here  book  is  a 
good  book." 

My  own  first  attempt  took  place  in  June  1883,  less  than  six 
months  after  landing  in  Wenchow.  I  had  found  my  text,  and 
happily  discovered  a  sermon  on  it,  in  the  Ningpo  vernacular, 
by  Archdeacon  Moule  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society.  From 
this  sennon,  where  I  thought  I  understood  it,  I  plagiarised 
freely,  and  after  much  labour  succeeded  in  reducing  my  address 
to  writing.  It  was  delivered  one  evening  to  our  httle  body  of 
about  thirty  Christians  with  exhausting  effort.  The  discourse 
ended,  I  asked  them  if  they  had  understood,  whereupon,  with 
beaming  smiles  they  all  responded  heartily,  "  Oh  tung-djah 
ba,"  "  We  understood  it  all  " — which  was  certainly  more  than 
I  did  myself ! 

After  our  missionary  has  once  broken  the  ice,  service  follows 
service,  and  sermon  sermon,  often  more  to  the  increase  of  the 


34  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

preacher's  vocabulary  than  to  the  enhghtenment  of  his 
audiences.  Certain  it  is  that  for  the  first  couple  of  years  the 
missionary  profits  more  from  his  discourses  than  do  his  people. 
Nevertheless,  his  hearers  increase  in  number,  and  respectful 
attention  is  paid  ;  for  the  messenger  brings  a  glorious  Truth, 
and,  though  it  shine  through  the  thick  clouds  of  his  linguistic 
disability,  it  still  shines  :  dim  though  his  light  may  be,  without 
him  there  would  be  less,  and  his  clean  life  and  manifest  sincerity 
tell  even  more  than  his  less  lustrous  words. 

There  are,  of  course,  times  when  all  things  seem  against  him. 
His  progress  in  the  language  appears  painfully  slow,  for  he 
makes  himself  understood  with  much  difficulty.  His  sermons 
too  are  a  laborious  effort,  most  of  the  week  being  spent  in 
gathering  together  what  he  profusely  spends  in  less  than  half- 
an-hour,  apparently  to  little  profit.  One  missionary,  formerly 
in  this  province,  after  two  years'  vain  endeavour,  actually 
packed  his  things  off  for  Shanghai,  and  would  soon  have  been 
en  voyage  for  home  had  not  a  friend  insisted  on  examining  him. 
This  gentleman  discovered  him  to  be  the  possessor  of  a  copious 
vocabulary  but  deficient  in  ability  to  string  it  together.  Per- 
suaded to  remain,  he  ultimately  became  a  famous  preacher,  and 
a  man  of  wide  influence. 

Probably,  also,  our  pioneer  has  little  opportunity  for  and  less 
temptation  to  outdoor  exercise.  No  comrade  calls  him,  no 
open  country  invites,  and,  even  if  it  did,  he  would  be  afraid  to 
venture  far,  lest  he  lose  his  way.  Occasionally  he  ventures  out 
on  a  solitary  walk,  feeling  at  first  exceeding  brave  at  going  out 
alone,  noting  each  turn  in  the  road  with  care,  lest  he  miss  his 
way  back.  As  he  strides  homewards,  the  turnings  have  got 
twisted,  and  his  heart  beats  faster  as  he  fails  to  recognise  his 
surroundings.  The  people  stare  at  him,  and  their  looks  to  his 
unaccustomed  eye  seem  malign  and  forbidding.  The  very  dogs 
are  his  foes,  for  do  they  not  recognise  him  as  a  foreigner,  and 
bark  viciously  at  his  heels,  just  as  they  do  after  the  ragged 
beggars  ?  He  grows  hot  and  anxious,  pursues  his  way  with  a 
boldness  he  by  no  means  feels,  and  speedily,  to  his  unbounded 
relief,  runs  right  into  his  own  gate,  almost  before  he  has  really 
discovered  his  whereabouts.  What  a  relief  !  How  nice  his 
Chinese  house  looks  after  the  forbidding  streets  !  What  a 
pleasant  reaction  after  his  anxiety  !     Yet  all  the  time,  as  he 


PIONEERING  35 

finds  out  with  amusement  later,  he  has  not  in  all  been  half  a 
mile  from  home. 

Again,  his  servant,  untrained  and  unsupervised,  in  en- 
deavouring to  cook  his  food  foreign  fashion,  cooks  it  in  fashion 
barbarian  instead.  Had  not  our  young  divine  an  unreasonable 
prejudice  against  native  food,  chiefly  received  from  travellers' 
tales  he  heard  and  read  on  his  way  out,  he  would  find  his  cook 
prepare  meals  in  native  style  both  tasty  and  wholesome.  But 
no,  he  is  afraid  of  eating  dog  or  cat,  hence  he  eats  bread  sour,  or 
doughy,  or  mouldy  instead.  Oh  !  for  "  the  fleshpots  of  Egypt ; 
now  our  soul  is  dried  away."  Oh  !  for  "  the  cucumbers,  and 
the  melons,  and  the  leeks,"  but  not,  oh,  not  "  the  garlic,"  for 
his  servant  breathes  it  o'er  him  as  he  serves  his  pudding,  his 
teacher  aspirates  it  upon  him  as  he  teaches  him  the  full  value 
of  his  h's,  the  people  trail  it  like  a  cloud  of  glory  behind  them  as 
they  go,  and  through  it  he  gasps  his  be-garlicked  way  as  he 
wanders  forth  in  search  of  fresh  air.     Not  the  garlic,  please  ! 

In  time  a  gentle  presence  comes  to  share  his  lot,  and  soon 
she  transforms  his  barn-like  house,  his  kitchen,  his  cook,  and, 
most  of  all,  himself.  Then,  for  the  first  time,  he  fully  com- 
prehends that  phrase  of  Isaiah's  about  the  wilderness  blossom- 
ing as  the  rose  ;  and  discovers,  moreover,  that  he  has  been 
starving  in  the  midst  of  plenty,  that  he  has  all  the  time  been 
living  in  an  Egypt  filled  with  fleshpots,  and  cucumbers,  and 
melons,  and  onions,  in  addition  to  the  garlic  galore,  with  which 
he  was  already  too  well  acquainted. 

What  a  change  from  those  dark  days  that  are  now  relegated 
to  the  limbo  of  the  past !  Then,  alone  in  the  midst  of  myriads, 
he  was  ever  looking  forward  with  longing  to  the  day  when  he 
might  visit  again  some  centre  of  civilisation,  and  hear  once 
more,  and  clumsily  join  in  the  sweet  music  of  his  native  tongue. 
On  any  such  visit  heaven  seemed  almost  opened,  with  just  an 
edging  of  haze  to  remind  him  of  the  day  of  return  to  exile.  Yet, 
even  then,  he  had  in  due  course  gone  back,  setting  his  lips  firmly 
together  that  they  might  not  show  his  weakness,  to  find  his 
grey  hours  tinged  with  rosier  memories  of  days  of  fellowship, 

md  what  was  equally  good,  nay  better,  to  find  that  what  he  had 
learned  of  the  language  was  not  forgotten,  but  had  actually 

fallen  into  clearer  perspective  by  his  temporary  withdrawal. 
So  go  early  pioneering  days.     He  endures  hardness  as  a  good 


36  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

soldier,  and  his  spiritual  chest  and  biceps  grow  bigger  and 
stronger  for  the  labours  and  disappointments  that  the  succeed- 
ing years  have  in  store  for  him.  This  is  the  stage  that  breaks 
him  in,  or  breaks  him,  and  the  grit  and  staying  power  he  then 
acquires  become  a  capitalised  reserve  fund  from  which  he  may 
draw  a  dividend  when  the  wicked  world  cuts  his  profits  over 
fine.  And  some  day,  when  his  first  furlough  falls  due,  and  he 
is  called  upon  to  part  from  the  people  to  whom  his  heart  has 
gone  out,  words  will  choke  him  as  he  sees  the  tears  streaming 
down  faces  that  have  vexed  and  grown  dear  to  him,  and  hears 
voices  shaken  with  emotion,  praying  the  Good  Father  to  care 
for  and  soon  bring  him  back.  For  years  afterwards,  he  may 
often  look  with  appreciation  on  the  gifts  they  brought  him, 
and  rejoice  that,  as  one  of  the  scrolls  they  presented  affirms, 
"  combed  by  the  winds  and  washed  by  the  rains,"  he  has  been 
privileged  to  "  widely  preach  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 


Ill 

E  VANGELISA  TION 

"  Let  us  go  into  the  next  towns ;  that  I  may  preach  there  also : 
for  therefore  came  I  forth." 

Many  and  various  are  the  modes  of  evangelising  China,  and 
of  no  single  form  may  it  be  said,  "  This  is  the  one  and  only 
method."  Just  as  at  home  one  minister  gives  much  time 
to  visitation,  another  to  his  study  and  sermon  preparation, 
a  third  to  an  "  institutional  church,"  and  in  each  case  a 
prosperous  work  results,  so  every  missionary  devotes  himself 
in  his  own  special  way,  and  in  general  each  man's  method 
is  best  suited  to  his  own  particular  temperament  and  the 
gifts  with  which  God  has  endowed  him. 

"  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them,"  says  our  Lord  in 
regard  to  the  "  prophets  "  of  His  day;  nor  is  it  a  less  valuable 
test  for  the  "  prophets  "  of  our  own,  albeit  quality  as  well 
as  quantity  is  a  desideratum  in  prophets  as  well  as  in  their 
fruit.  Numerical  success  is  not  always  a  testimony  to  the 
wisdom  of  the  worker,  neither  is  lack  of  numbers,  especially 
in  pioneer  work,  a  proof  of  unwisdom  either  in  the  worker 
or  his  methods,  for  soils  vary.  Nevertheless  experience, 
now  a  centenarian,  cries  aloud  to  every  missionary  :  Examine 
yourself  and  your  ways  in  the  light  I  shed.  All  methods  of 
evangelisation  used  by  the  Church  in  China  are  good,  though 
some  are  more  effective  than  others.  Happy  is  the  man  who 
has  wisdom,  strength,  and  means  to  employ  them  all,  either 
in  person,  or,  better  still,  in  his  native  staff,  for  to  know  how 
to  use  men  is  of  more  value  to  a  missionary  than  much  book 
learning. 

The  street  chapel  has  been,  and  in  many  stations  still  is 
much  used  for  purposes  of  evangelisation.  Opinions  differ 
as  to  its  permanent  value.     I  once  heard  an  experienced 

37 


38  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

missionary,  who  had  given  a  portion  of  each  day  to  street 
chapel  preaching  for  nearly  twenty  years,  say  that  he  had 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  his  time  had  been  mis-spent 
and  his  breath  wasted.  His  church  was  prosperous,  but  this 
he  attributed  to  other  causes.  He  had,  however,  forgotten 
that  his  earlier  converts  and  workers  were  first  introduced 
to  Christian  truth  through  this  very  instrumentality.  More 
accurately  might  he  have  said,  that  his  time  could  now  be 
put  to  better  use  ;  for,  that  which  may  be  helpful  in  the 
early  stages  of  a  mission  may  well  become  of  only  secondary 
value  after  the  church  has  grown. 

Another  well-known  missionary  once  related  how  his  sixteen 
years  of  street  chapel  preaching  had  only  resulted  in  a  church 
of  sixteen  members.  It  seemed  a  poor  return  for  so  many 
years  of  such  exhausting  labour,  but,  during  those  sixteen 
years,  this  missionary's  name  and  character  thereby  became 
distinguished  throughout  a  large  county,  and  he  and  those 
who  have  been  sent  to  work  with  him  have  since  reaped 
a  more  gracious  reward. 

In  Wenchow,  our  street  chapel  was  much  used  during 
the  early  days  of  our  work,  but  other  and  wider  claims,  and 
lack  of  suitable  men,  have  caused  it  to  be  transformed  into 
a  book  shop  and  Bible  depot.  Now  it  is  doing  perhaps 
more  good  in  circulating  Bibles,  hymn-books,  and  other 
works  of  a  Christian  and  educational  character  than  it  did 
when  used  as  a  "  school  of  Tyrannus."  Its  office  of  preach- 
ing hall  is  now  filled  much  more  effectively  by  evening  services, 
which  are  held  in  different  parts  of  the  city  nearly  every  night 
of  the  week. 

Perhaps,  however,  my  reader  would  like  to  visit  a  street 
preaching  room.  It  shall  be  the  first  to  which  I  myself 
was  introduced.  The  street  is  a  narrow  cleft  between  the 
shops  which  line  both  its  sides  ;  along  it  a  steady  stream  of 
people  moves  from  dawn  till  dark,  and  even  after.  The 
room  is  a  hired  one,  formerly  a  shop  ;  alterations  have  been 
made,  and  benches  and  a  table  put  in. 

Allow  me  first  to  introduce  you  to  the  native  pastor,  Mr, 
Wong,  who  would  be  Mr  "  King  "  in  England.  By  the  way, 
there  are  more  Wongs  in  China  than  Smiths  in  all  the  world. 

"  What  is  your  lofty  name  ?  "  asks  Mr  Wong. 


E  VA  NGELISA  TION  39 

"  My  unworthy  name  is  Reader,"  you  answer. 

"  What  is  your  honourable  country  ?  "  he  again  asks. 
.    "  My  unworthy  country  is  '  the  Great  Brave  '  "   (which 
means  England),  you  reply,  with  patriotic  hesitation  round 
about   the   word    "  unworthy,"    especially   as   your   tender 
conscience  abhors  polite  fibs. 

"  And  what  may  be  your  honourable  age  ?  "  calmly  con- 
tinues he,  meaning  no  offence,  but  making  up  his  mind,  after 
a  glance  at  your  auburn  hair  that  you  must  at  least  be  sixty. 

"  Tell  him  to  mind  his  own  business,"  says  the  look  on  your 
face,  and — Mr  Wong  is  astonished  to  hear  that  you  are  only 
thirty. 

You  do  not  admire  our  room  ?  Neither  do  we.  It  is  close, 
dark,  stuffy.  Will  it  comfort  you  to  learn  that  it  will  be 
closer,  darker,  and  stuffier  before  you  leave  it,  for  we  are 
hoping  for  a  full  house,  considerable  native  tobacco,  and  a 
human  atmosphere — at  least  we  are  hoping  for  the  full 
house.  Try  to  forget  the  discomforts  by  examining  the 
scrolls  on  the  walls,  or,  still  better,  the  interested  faces  of  the 
people.  First,  however,  let  us  remember  our  errand.  Shall 
the  light-bearer  attempt  to  reveal  the  face  of  his  Lord  with 
an  ill-trimmed  lamp  ?  Let  us  kneel,  and  Mr  Wong  will  help 
us  trim  the  lamp. 

Now  the  door  is  open,  and  unlike  what  you  have  been 
accustomed  to,  the  congregation  waiting  for  the  parson 
— let  the  parson  await  his  congregation.  Past  like  a  living 
stream  flow  the  people,  intent  on  the  business  of  the  hour. 
Let  no  one  think  they  want  our  wares.  They  need  them 
badly  enough,  and  their  needs  stretch  out  longing  arms 
towards  us  ;  we  feel  them  tugging  at  our  heart-strings  as 
we  sit  here  waiting,  but  let  no  one  fancy  that  the  individual 
Chinaman  is  crying  out,  "  Come  over  and  help  us."  Yet  the 
cry  of  his  race  is  as  real  as  was  the  cry  of  the  Macedonian 
race  two  thousand  years  ago,  for  the  man  who  appeared  to 
St  Paul  had  neither  personality  nor  name,  save  "  the  man 
of  Macedonia."  It  was  the  type  he  embodied  and  the  need 
he  voiced.  In  similar  fashion  the  "  man  of  Cathay  "  appears 
before  us  in  these  crowds  of  people  hastening  like  phantoms 
past  our  door,  and  his  needs  cry  for  what  he  himself  desires 
not,  and  would  prefer  to  do  without. 


40  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

At  last  he  advances  a  step  nearer,  and  comes  sauntering 
hesitatingly  in,  no  longer  impersonal,  but  in  the  flesh  and  with 
a  name  and  surname.  Mr  Wong  is  asking  him  to  sit  down, 
and  after  considerable  bowing  and  ceremony  he  submits. 
Apparently  he  is  a  man  of  intelligence,  for  here  comes  Wong 
for  a  book  from  the  table.  Let  us  notice  from  which  pile 
he  takes  it,  for  these  books  are  of  various  kinds,  some  so  simple 
that  we  hope  the  ignorant  will  understand  them  if  they  can 
find  even  a  schoolboy  to  read  them  out.  Evidently  this 
visitor  is  also  a  "  Reader,"  for  Wong  is  offering  him  one  of 
our  more  classical  tracts. 

Other  visitors  are  now  straggling  in ;  please  sit  still  and  I  will 
stand  up  and  try  to  interest  them.  A  foreigner  on  his  feet, 
talking,  is  a  sufficient  attraction  to  many ;  and,  as  everything 
in  China  is  open  which,  according  to  our  ideas,  ought  to  be 
closed,  and  everything  closed  which  should  be  open,  the  people, 
observing  others  seated  inside,  come  in  to  see  what  is  going 
on.  Soon  the  seats,  the  aisle,  and  the  back  are  filled  with 
listeners.  We  are  telling  them,  maybe,  that  man  consists 
of  two  parts,  the  mortal  and  the  immortal ;  that,  while  the 
mortal  may  seem  of  paramount  importance  to  the  busy  man, 
we  venture  to  ask  him  to  pause  for  a  few  minutes,  to  "  steal  a 
moment's  leisure  from  his  haste,"  and  consider  with  us  the  im- 
portance of  the  immortal  nature,  its  origin  and  destination. 

Mr  Reader,  you  do  not  understand  the  sermon  ;  that  is 
your  loss,  and  we  are  now  too  tired  after  its  delivery  to  re-state 
it,  which  is  perhaps  your  gain  !  Moreover,  this  kind  of  sermon 
cannot  be  re-told ;  to  be  effective  it  must  be  hot  from  the 
forge.  Suffice  it,  that  He  who  made  the  heavens  and  the 
earth,  and  all  that  in  them  is.  He  who  for  man's  sins  sent 
His  beloved  Son  to  the  Cross,  He  who  seeks  man's  salvation, 
has  been  held  up  before  the  people.  They,  too,  have  been 
held,  as  you  have  seen,  by  the  speaker's  message,  and  have 
expressed  their  approbation  as  they  turned  to  depart.  What 
will  be  the  result  ?  That  lies  between  the  man  and  God. 
The  seed  sown  to-day  may  spring  to-morrow  or  twenty  years 
hence.     It  does  so  in  China  as  elsewhere. 

To  indulge  in  iconoclasm  is  no  difficult  matter  to  the 
evangelist.  Idolatry  is  so  manifestly  foolish  that  he  may 
pour  out  as  much  sarcasm  as  he  likes,  for  his  hearers  will 


E  VANGELISA  TION  41 

laugh  heartily,  agree  with  him  in  all  he  says,  and — some  of 
them  kneel  in  front  of  an  idol  before  the  day  is  out.  There 
is,  however,  much  more  pleasure  and  profit  to  be  obtained 
from  building  up  the  glorious  truths  of  Christian  teaching 
than  in  destroying  the  superstitions  in  which  the  people 
have  found  a  measure  of  comfort  for  so  many  generations. 
The  evangelist  has  the  privilege  of  showing  them  "  a  more 
excellent  way,"  and  this  can  be  made  plain  without  pouring 
ridicule  on  the  poor  old  mud  path,  which  was  yet  a  path  of 
righteousness,  even  though  most  were  content  with  merely 
bowing  to  it,  and  leaving  it  but  little  trodden.  When  Mr 
Stott  was  once  advising  a  Wenchow  preacher  to  preach 
Christ  in  preference  to  ridiculing  idolatry,  he  received  a 
beautiful  reply  :  "  You  mean  like  this  :  the  people  are  now 
living  in  an  old  tumble-down  hut,  and  you  don't  want  me 
to  pull  this  down  about  their  ears.  I  am,  as  it  were,  to  build 
a  beautiful  house,  furnished  with  all  good  things,  and  then 
invite  them  to  leave  their  old  broken-down  hut  and  enter 
into  their  new  possession."  ^ 

China  was  not  always  an  idolatrous  country ;  indeed, 
idolatry  dates  its  introduction  from  India  since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Christian  era.  Yet  to-day  there  are  probably  as 
many  idols  in  China  as  people.  The  image,  in  almost  every 
^ase,  represents  a  dead  person,  for  the  worship  of  the  Chinese, 
generally  speaking,  may  fitly  be  described  as  a  worship  of  the 
dead.  Before  the  idol  the  Chinaman  bows  low  with  his  offer- 
ing of  incense  and  candles,  or  his  feast  of  many  dishes,  dishes : 
which,  being  a  thrifty  man,  he  afterwards  takes  home  to' 
enjoy  with  his  family  or  friends. 

There  is  little  difficulty  in  pointing  out  the  folly  of  all  this 
and  of  much  even  more  objectionable  superstition.  It  is  easy 
to  show  that  the  idol  has  ears,  but  they  are  of  clay — how  can 
it  hear  !  has  hands,  also  of  clay — how  can  it  stretch  out  arms 
to  save  !  has  feet  of  clay — how  can  it  come  to  help  him  !  has 
a  mouth  and  a  throat,  full  of  clay — how  can  it  possibly  speak  ! 
has  eyes,  also  of  clay — which  everybody  admits  to  be  blind, 
until  the  priest,  at  its  dedication,  paints  in  its  pupils  with  a 
mixture  of  ink  and  pig's  blood — and  how  can  ink  and  pig's 
blood  give  sight ! 

1  "  Twenty-six  Years  in  China,"  by  Mrs  Stott. 


42  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

To  some  these  facts  need  pointing  out,  but  there  is  con- 
structive material  enough  at  hand  of  more  value  to  the 
evangelist  than  these  merely  destructive  agencies.  For  God 
has  not  left  Himself  without  witness  in  this  land.  There  are 
well-known  Chinese  phrases,  as  well  as  noble  sayings  of  the 
great  Chinese  philosophers,  Confucius,  Laotsz,  Mencius,  which 
have  prepared  his  way,  and  by  the  use  of  which  he  can  convict 
his  audiences  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  of  judgment  to  come, 
and  even  of  the  possibility  of  salvation. 

He  may  show  from  these  sources  that  "  The  soul  of  man  is 
bestowed  by  Heaven,"  and  not  by  idols,  or  the  beings  the  idols 
represent ;  that  "  Man  depends  on  Heaven  for  his  rice,"  and 
not  on  the  worship  of  images,  or  on  charm-flags  stuck  in  his 
fields  ;  that  man's  conscience,  which  enables  him  to  judge 
between  right  and  wrong,  is  the  "  Good  heart  of  Heaven's 
law,"  and  not  the  gift  of  an  idol ;  that  "  It  is  Heaven  that 
gives  peace  and  happiness,"  and  not  those  beings  to  whom 
they  pray  for  such  blessings  ;  that  the  best  thing  which  can 
be  said  of  a  man  when  he  is  dead  is,  that  he  has  "  returned 
(or,  gone  home)  to  Heaven  "  ;  that  as  a  New  Year's  greeting, 
to  wish  that  a  friend  throughout  the  year  might  "  lean  on 
(trust)  Heaven  "  would  be  complimentary,  and  meet  with 
thanks,  while  to  wish  that  he  might  "  lean  on  the  gods  "  would 
imply  sickness,  and  be  an  offence.  And  as  "  Heaven  "  re- 
presents the  One  who  dwells  there,  who  has  created  and  up- 
holds and  loves  all  men,  it  is  to  Him  that  prayer  should  be 
made,  thanks  expressed,  and  in  whom  alone  salvation  can  be 
effectually  sought,  as  well  for  this  life  as  for  that  which  is  to 
come. 

He  (God)  requires  no  offerings  of  candles,  for  has  He  not 
made  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars  to  light  man's  way  both 
by  day  and  by  night !  He  asks  no  incense,  save  the  incense 
of  pure  lips  and  a  clean  heart,  for  has  He  not  created  the 
myriad  of  sweet-smelling  flowers  for  man's  delectation  !  He 
needs  no  offerings  of  flesh,  for  "  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand 
hills  are  Mine,"  saith  the  Lord.  And,  when  man,  even  those 
wisest  of  men,  the  sages,  by  searching  could  not  find  out  God, 
He  at  last  sent  His  only  Son,  that  once  for  all,  through  His 
death  on  the  Cross,  the  world  might  be  rid  of  offerings  of 
blood,  might  know  God's  love,  and  learn  that  He  demanded 


E  VA  NGELISA  TION  43 

far  greater  sacrifices  of  men  than  sacrifices  of  dead  animals. 
For  the  demands  of  God  are  Hving  sacrifices,  human  sacrifices, 
the  bodies,  souls,  and  spirits  of  men,  that  they  should  repent 
of  sin  and  uncleanness,  and  give  their  hands  to  serve  Him, 
their  feet  to  walk  His  ways,  their  lips  to  speak  His  Truth, 
their  hearts  to  love  and  adore  Him ;  and  no  offerings  of 
incense,  candles,  pigs,  or  goats  can  take  the  place  of  these 
greater  oblations,  or  be  acceptable  in  His  sight.  Such  are  the 
Eternal  Truths  that  find  ready  garb  in  the  Chinese  language, 
and  that  appeal  with  amazing  facility  to  the  Chinese  heart 
and  conscience. 

Fifteen  years  ago,  the  evangelist  hereabouts  still  met  with 
more  than  enough  of  controversy — sometimes  even  in  the 
midst  of  his  addresses.  Such  questions  as,  "  What  about 
ancestral  worship  ?  "  or,  "Do  your  Christians  throw  their 
ancestral  shrines  into  the  cesspool  ?  "  would  be  asked  ;  or, 
"  If  everybody  went  to  heaven,  wouldn't  it  soon  be  full  ?  " 
"  Do  foreigners  really  take  out  our  people's  hearts  and  livers  ?  " 
"  Why  do  the  Christians  gouge  out  the  idols'  eyes  ?  "  "  Are 
not  you  foreigners  scheming  to  get  hold  of  our  country  ?  " 
and  so  on.  To-day  he  rejoices  more  often  at  hearing  some 
amongst  his  hearers  say,  at  the  close  of  his  address,  "  It  is  all 
tjue,  all  true ; — but  I  can't  live  up  to  it  !  Great  is  his  joy 
that  this  feeling,  "  It  is  high,  I  cannot  attain  unto  it,"  has  been 
aroused,  for  may  it  not  indicate  the  birth-pangs  of  a  soul,  the 
beginning  of  the  struggle  into  the  divine  life  ?  "I  know  you 
cannot  live  up  to  it,  brother,  that  is  why  Christ  came  to  earth, 
and  also  why  I  have  been  sent  to  your  honourable  country, 
for  there  is  help  and  strength  to  be  had  for  the  asking  from  the 
Source  of  Strength.  Come  with  us  and  we  will  do  you  good, 
by  teaching  you  to  ask  and  obtain  what  you  need,  from  God 
Himself." 

The  best  evangelists  are  of  course  the  native  Christians, 
who  by  their  life  and  conduct  daily  witness  to  the  power  of 
God  in  their  changed  characters,  and  who  are  ever  ready  to 
give  a  reason  for  the  truth  that  is  within  them.  The  other 
day  I  asked  a  good  Christian  man — 

"  How  did  you  become  a  believer  ?  " 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  I  was  outside  the  West  Gate  one  day, 
mending  Mrs  Ching's  tubs,  and  as  I  worked  she  began  to  tell 


44  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

me  about  the  doctrine.  I  listened  as  I  worked,  was  deeply 
interested,  and  for  a  long  time  afterwards  kept  pondering  over 
the  matter,  but  having  nobody  to  introduce  me  to  a  service  I 
did  not  know  how  to  get  in." 

"  Why  did  you  not  come  without  introduction  ?  "  I  asked  ; 
"  the  door  is  wide  open  to  all." 

"  I  know  that  now,"  he  rejoined,  "  but  I  did  not  know  it 
then.  One  day  I  went  to  a  man  of  my  acquaintance  who  kept 
a  grain  shop,  and  who  was  attending  the  services,  and  asked 
him  to  take  me  with  him.  What  do  you  think  the  man  said  ? 
He  actually  advised  me  not  to  go,  saying  that  he  himself  was 
thinking  of  withdrawing,  as  he  could  not  afford  the  loss  of 
time,  one  day  in  seven  ;  and  if  he  could  not  afford,  he  wanted 
to  know  how  I  with  my  large  family  could." 

"  Who  is  this  man  ?  "   I  asked. 

"  Oh  !  he  is  still  coming,  but  he  is  not  a  member,"  said  he  ; 
and  continued,  "  After  that  I  again  put  off  the  matter,  until 
one  Sunday,  on  passing  the  Zing-see  Church,  I  saw  the  gate 
open  and  ventured  in.  You  were  preaching,  and,  amongst 
other  things,  said  that  no  man  who  sincerely  prayed  to  God 
for  light  day  by  day,  for  a  month,  would  fail  to  receive  help. 
So  I  went  home  and  prayed,  and  found  what  you  said  to  be 
true.  From  that  day  I  began  to  pray  and  to  attend  the 
services  regularly." 

In  the  daily  testimony  of  our  native  Christians  we  have  our 
most  effective  evangelising  force.  As  the  Chinese  put  it,  "  one 
man  influences  ten,  ten  a  hundred,  a  hundred  a  thousand," 
and  so  on — we  sometimes  wish  they  did.  Nevertheless, 
our  Christians  tell  their  friends,  relatives,  and  neighbours, 
and,  like  the  sweet  potato-vine,  fresh  roots  are  constantly 
striking. 

Another  form  of  evangelisation,  and  a  most  valuable  one, 
is  that  of  village  preaching.  Certainly,  to  the  missionary  it 
is  by  far  the  most  trying  and  arduous,  but  the  results  are  fully 
commensurate  with  the  discomforts. 

Our  missionary  has  now  begun  to  feel  some  measure  of 
liberty  in  preaching  to  his  ordinary  city  congregation,  and 
desires  like  his  Master  to  "go  into  the  next  towns  "  and 
villages  also,  in  order  to  evangelise  "  the  regions  beyond." 
Well  is  it  for  him  if  he  has  the  company  of  a  good  native 


EVANGELISATION  45 

helper ;  otherwise,  he  will  soon  be  lost  in  more  senses  than 
one,  for  the  road  to  a  Chinaman's  heart  is  as  difficult  as  the 
roads  his  feet  have  to  tread.  These  roads  are  mere  tracks, 
generally  paved  with  rough  stones  and — intervals.  The 
branch  roads  are  many,  and,  to  the  novice,  all  alike,  just  as  the 
Chinese,  both  in  face  and  dress,  seem  all  alike  to  the  new 
arrival,  until  he  advances  from  generalities  to  detail.  It  shocks 
our  personal  vanity  to  find  that  the  Chinaman  often  has  the 
same  view  of  our  noble  selves,  and  that  he  cannot  immediately 
distinguish  between  Mr  Koarse  and  Mr  Fyne  ;  as  also  it 
wounds  our  national  vanity  to  hear  our  beautiful  print  and 
orthography  described  as  the  track  of  a  fly's  legs  after  a  tumble 
into  the  ink. 

My  own  first  evangelistic  trip  was  not  a  success.  A 
borrowed  preacher,  whose  right  side  was  paralysed  from 
birth  ;  an  earnest  Christian,  anxious  to  "  roll  the  old  Chariot 
along  "  by  carrying  my  bedding  and  basket,  but  who  soon 
found  them  too  heavy  for  his  unaccustomed  shoulder ;  and 
myself,  callow  and  unfledged,  we  set  out,  a  hopeful  trio,  to 
convert  China  !  Our  boat  landed  us  about  three  miles  from 
the  city,  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  and  we  walked  in 
towards  a  good-sized  village. 

Jhe  progress  would  have  charmed  a  snail — the  preacher  with 
his  peculiar  gait,  and  the  man  with  the  unaccustomed  shoulder. 
The  road  was  nearly  a  mile  long,  but  we  did  not  give  it  up. 
No  !  there  were  giants  to  slay,  and  we  were  going  to  slay,  or 
be  slain  by  them — the  preacher  with  his  lame  leg,  the  man 
with  his  sore  shoulder,  and  myself  with  an  English  throat, 
and  a  few  imperfect  Chinese  phrases  rattling  irresponsibly 
about  inside  it.  We  arrived.  So  did  the  "  giants,"  in  the 
shape  of  a  number  of  unkempt  women  and  children,  and  one  or 
two  decrepit  old  men,  too  worn-out  to  be  in  the  fields.  We 
did  not  run  away  in  terror,  but  boldly  stood  our  ground.  I 
propped  up  the  lame  preacher,  and  he  turned  on  his  stream  of 
eloquence.  He  had  "  liberty,"  as  our  Methodist  forefathers 
styled  it,  and  the  "  giants  "  were  awed  into  silence.  When 
the  lame  preacher  had  finished,  my  turn  came.  Fortunately 
not  much  more  was  required,  for  he  seemed  to  have  absorbed 
more  than  his  share  of  "  liberty  " — at  any  rate  there  was 
little  enough  left. 
C 


46  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

The  "  giants  "  became  friendly  ;  they  even  offered  us  tea 
and  refreshments.  It  was  then  I  discovered  they  were  not 
what  they  seemed.  Indeed,  some  of  them  were  already 
connected  with  the  China  Inland  Mission  here.  To  meet  with 
these  people  was  pleasant  enough,  but  having  resolved  to 
build  on  no  other  man's  foundation,  I  soon  set  out  with  my 
comical  companions  for  the  boat,  and  told  the  boatman  to  row 
us  up  the  north  river  to  a  large  village  some  miles  away, 
where,  being  out  of  sight  of  the  city,  we  seemed  to  be  as  far 
from  Wenchow  as  Wenchow  is  from  England.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  we  had  not  travelled  much  more  than  ten  miles,  but  it 
distinctly  felt  like  the  interior  of  China. 

In  the  morning  the  other  man's  "  foundations"  again  ap- 
peared close  alongside,  so  the  lame  preacher  was  urged  to  find 
out  some  place  where  we  might  have  the  unmitigated  joy  of 
hailing  no  man  as  friend.  Having  hired  a  chair  and  two 
bearers  for  the  preacher,  away  we  went  into  a  charming  valley 
amongst  the  mountains,  to  a  village  of  4000  inhabitants. 
There  we  preached  in  the  open  air  to  a  goodly  number  of 
people,  afterwards  wandering  about  the  neighbourhood 
delivering  leaflets.  For  tiffin,  being  still  young,  we  bought 
some  Chinese  cakes,  and,  after  more  preaching  and  talking, 
walked  the  pleasant  journey  back  through  the  fields  to 
the  boat. 

Tired,  but  thankful  for  our  favourable  reception,  we  reached 
the  boat,  when,  lo  and  behold  !  here  were  two  more  Christians. 
It  really  seemed  as  if  all  China  had  been  converted  before 
its  time.  Inviting  the  two  young  men  to  enter,  we  spent 
an  hour  with  them  in  reading  the  New  Testament  and  in 
prayer,  and  next  morning  turned  the  nose  of  our  mat-covered 
old  boat  homewards,  having  decided  to  find  where  the  "  other 
man's  foundations  "  lay  before  making  a  second  tour. 

On  next  meeting  Mr  Stott  we  had  a  good  time  together 
over  the  matter.  It  turned  out  there  were  not  a  dozen  Chris- 
tians along  the  banks  of  the  north  river,  up  which  I  had  been 
travelhng,  a  river  stretching  nearly  a  hundred  miles  inland, 
along  whose  course  lay  hundreds  of  villages,  amongst  which, 
to  the  north  and  west,  we  now,  after  many  years,  have  more 
than  forty  churches.  The  large  village  wherein  no  Christian 
hailed  us  as  friend  was,  when  this  chapter  was  first  written, 


E  VA  NGELISA  TION  47 

still  in  the  condition  in  which  we  left  it.  A  few  months 
ago  tlie  way  opened  for  us  to  establish  an  out-station  there, 
and  it  now  has  a  name  on  our  plan,  and  a  regular  Sunday 
service. 

Perhaps  my  reader  would  like  to  take  a  trip  up  country, 
and  learn  for  himself  the  meaning  of  village  evangelisation. 
Let  it  then  be  autumn.  The  air  is  dry  and  bracing,  the  ex- 
hausting heat  of  summer  is  over,  and  our  pale  cheeks  will 
be  none  the  worse  for  the  fresher  country  breezes.  We  will 
haul  out  our  provision  basket,  and  pack  it  with  things  for 
a  week's  journey.  What  shall  we  put  in  ?  Why,  everything 
we  are  likely  to  need,  to  be  sure.  This  is  a  sort  of  picnic  in 
which  you,  who  have  no  responsibility,  and  to  whom  all  is 
new,  will  no  doubt  find  considerable  enjoyment ;  but  please 
remember  that  it  is  possible  to  get  a  distaste  for  picnics  and 
picnic  food. 

In  go  these  chickens,  tasteless  creatures  !  They  have  had 
to  scratch  so  hard  for  a  living  that  their  legs  are  all  tendons, 
and  as  to  a  chest,  they  have  had  no  spare  time  or  food  for 
developing  one.  In  go  bread,  potatoes,  coffee,  tea,  everything 
save  rice,  and  even  that  we  must  take  if  we  want  it  white 
and  fine,  instead  of  coarse  and  red,  such  as  the  poorer  natives 
u^.  Now  for  the  bedding  :  a  thick  wadded  quilt,  blanket, 
pillow,  etc.,  etc.,  aU  to  be  wrapped  up  in  a  piece  of  canvas, 
and  again  in  a  close-woven  coir  mat. 

The  tide  will  not  wait,  so  out  we  go  through  the  odoriferous 
streets,  and — here  is  the  city  gate,  on  the  point  of  closing 
for  the  night,  and  here  the  river,  with  the  boat  ready  to 
start.  We  have  a  clear  night,  for  which  let  us  be  thankful,  as 
the  river,  being  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide  at  this 
point,  can  be  cause  for  anxiety  in  dark  and  squally  weather. 
Mr  Stobie's  boat  was  swamped  just  down  there  a  couple 
of  years  ago,  and  for  an  hour  in  stormy  winter  weather  he 
and  his  men  stood  immersed  to  the  waist  in  their  waterlogged 
bark,  which  was  invisible  beneath  their  feet  until  they 
drifted  ashore.  The  coolie  will  spread  our  beds  under  the 
cover,  while  we  sit  outside  to  enjoy  the  glory  of  the  night. 
The  beds  being  spread,  we  turn  in ;  and  soon  even  you,  despite 
your  feeling  of  strangeness,  are  fast  asleep,  leaving  yourself 
entirely  at  the  mercy  of  this,   to  you,   suspicious-looking 


48  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

boatman  and  his  crew  of  two,  who,  nevertheless,  will  deal 
with  you  as  faithfully  as  men  usually  deal  with  each 
other. 

Indeed,  he  has  already  done  so,  for  lo  !  the  night  is  over 
and  gone,  morning  has  dawned  bright  and  sunny,  and  we 
are  anchored  in  clear  water,  close  to  the  bank,  amidst  scenery 
as  bonnie  as  Scottish — mountains  on  every  side,  and  a  lovely 
deep  basin  inviting  us  to  a  morning  dip.  There  are,  it  is 
true,  villages  and  villagers  within  sight,  but  really  people 
must  take  the  consequences  if  they  look  this  way.  After 
all,  they  wear  so  little  themselves  in  summer  that  we  shall 
not  startle  them  much  except  by  the  whiteness  of  our  skins — 
"  white  as  death,"  they  will  say.  Have  you  ever  heard  of 
the  Chinese  boy  in  a  Mission  school  who  was  being  examined 
concerning  the  different  races  of  the  earth  and  their  colour  ? 

"  What  colour  is  the  negro,  my  boy  ?  "  asked  the  examiner. 

*'  Black,  sir." 

"  Good  :   and  what  colour  is  the  American  Indian  ?  " 

"  Copper  colour,  sir." 

"  Right.:  and  what  colour  is  an  Englishman  ?  ** 

"  White,  sir." 

"  And  now  what  is  the  colour  of  a  Chinaman,  my  boy  ?  " 

"  Man  colour,  sir,"  proudly  answered  the  youth.  Never- 
theless the  Chinaman  admires  a  pink  and  white  skin,  almost 
as  much  as  the  negro  does ;  and  the  women  in  the  city  do 
their  best  to  copy  it  with  rouge  and  powder. 

Our  next  business  is  chairs  and  chair-bearers,  for  while 
you  may  be  able  to  walk  twenty  miles  on  a  roadless  road,  you 
have  not  to  preach  afterwards.  Moreover,  you  are  fresh 
from  the  best  climate  in  the  world  for  an  Englishman,  and 
have  not  had  your  blood  impoverished  by  an  enervating 
latitude,  nor  have  you  been  down  with  ague  and  other 
worse  complaints.  Therefore,  in  the  absence  of  your  motor- 
car or  the  tram,  you  are  welcome  to  walk  if  you  like,  though, 
mind  you,  we  don't  recommend  it,  for  you  wiU  soon  be 
drenched  with  perspiration.  There  is  no  bathroom  at  the 
far  end,  or  any  privacy  for  changing  your  clothes,  and  to 
sit  in  them,  wet  and  tired,  is  to  court  a  fever. 

Neither  do  these  coolies  recommend  it,  for  they  are  longing 
to  earn  a  bowl  of  rice  by  carrying  you — despite  your  weight 


ON  THE  ROAD 


EVANGELISATION  49 

— and  will  certainly  consider  you  a  mean  man  if,  out  of  pity 
for  them  which  they  do  not  appreciate,  you  rob  both  them 
and  their  families  of  a  day's  food.  So  put  yourself  on  that 
narrow  board,  rest  your  feet  on  this  piece  of  wood  that  hangs 
down,  lean  your  back  against  the  back-rest,  place  your  elbows 
on  the  long  chair-poles,  have  no  qualms  over  the  deepest 
gulf,  the  sharpest  turn,  or  the  narrowest  bridge,  and  endure 
stoically  whatever  may  come. 

When  the  bearers  are  of  equal  height,  and,  like  a  horse, 
keep  out  of  step,  then  the  motion  is  pleasant ;  but  when 
they  keep  in  step,  as  an  elephant  does  with  himself,  then  your 
feelings  may  be  hurt.  Good  bearers  travel  twenty-five  miles 
a  day,  day  after  day,  and  the  pay  is  something  less  than  a 
shilling  per  diem,  all  inclusive. 

It  is  a  lovely  country  we  are  passing  through.  Presently 
we  shall  emerge  from  this  wood  and  reach  the  river  again, 
just  above  a  rapid.  Here  it  is,  and  on  our  right  towers,  sheer 
from  the  water,  a  lofty  cliff  with  a  great  rent  in  its  face,  inside 
which  is  built  a  picturesque  temple.  That  some  Chinese 
have  a  proper  appreciation  of  natural  scenery  the  sites  they 
choose  for  temples  and  rest-houses  give  abundant  evidence, 
but  such  appreciation  does  not  seem  to  be  so  universally 
diffused  as  in  England.  For  instance,  the  other  day,  speaking 
with  a  Chinaman  of  average  intelligence,  I  asked  him  if  he 
did  not  think  the  mountain  scenery  we  had  recently  passed 
through  very  beautiful.  "  Mountains  !  Beautiful !  "  he 
uttered  in  surprise.  "  What  is  there  beautiful  about  moun- 
tains !  "  Had  I  proceeded  with,  "  Why,  what  a  splendid 
lot  of  grass  and  brushwood  for  the  oven  there  is  on  them," 
then  would  he  have  seen  their  beauty  and  become  almost 
enthusiastic. 

Let  us  get  down  from  our  chairs  and  climb  up  to  the  rift 
in  the  cliff  while  the  coolies  are  getting  the  ferry-boat  across 
to  this  side,  for  whenever  did  you  reach  a  ferry  and  find 
the  boat  on  the  right  side  !  Up  the  steep  stone  steps  we  go, 
two  or  three  hundred  of  them,  until  we  reach  the  cleft.  Turn- 
ing around  the  rock  wall  we  come  to  the  keeper's  room.  He 
is  a  tall  old  man,  nearly  blind,  and  though  he  be  the  keeper  of 
a  heathen  temple,  if  you  ask  him  he  wiU  teU  you  that  he  has  no 
belief  in  the  idols,  that  some  of  his  relatives  are  Christians, 


50  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

that  Christianity  is  true  and  idolatry  false,  but — what  else 
is  he,  a  half-blind  old  man,  to  do  for  his  living  ? 

He  soon  provides  the  usual  cup  of  colourless  tea,  made 
in  the  cup,  with  a  pinch  of  fresh  leaves  in  the  bottom — there 
is  nothing  so  refreshing  on  a  hot  day — and  he  will  welcome 
with  rapture  the  ten  cents  you  give  him,  and  sing  your  praises 
for  many  a  long  day.  We  turn  a  corner,  and  find  ourselves 
in  a  temple  built  upon  the  rocky  platform,  where  neither 
floods,  nor  rains,  nor  winds  can  cause  it  to  fall,  for  it  is  high 
above  the  waters,  its  floor  is  rock,  its  roof  is  rock,  and  its 
walls  are  rock.  Yet  the  day  is  coming  when  a  flood  that 
nothing  can  resist  will  sweep  out  these  idols,  which  sit  here 
so  sadly  unkempt  and  forlorn.  They  remind  one  of  the 
thirteen-year-old  boy  who  was  brought  by  his  mother  to 
a  Wenchow  missionary  with  a  skin  rupture. 

"  Take  this  piece  of  soap,"  said  the  missionary,  "  get  some 
warm  water,  and  wash  him  all  over." 

"  Wash  my  boy  all  over  !  "  replied  the  indignant  mother, 
"  wash  my  boy  all  over  !  He  has  never  been  washed  all  over 
since  he  was  born."     And  the  missionary  believed  her. 

So,  in  regard  to  these  idols,  as  in  most  other  country  temples, 
they  prove  by  their  appearance  that  they  have  neither  been 
washed  nor  dusted  "  since  they  were  born  "  ;  the  cobwebs 
are  about  them  ;  the  squirrels,  not  so  easily  deceived  as  man, 
have  run  off  with  their  hair,  moustaches,  and  eyebrows  for 
their  nests ;  the  weather  has  worn  off  the  paint,  and  truth, 
naked  and  unadorned,  stands  stark  before  us.  A  leak  in  the 
rock  roof  has  dripped  on  the  shoulder  of  one  of  these  pro- 
tectors of  the  people,  its  clay  has  collapsed,  and  a  leprous  arm 
lies  shattered  on  the  floor.  Yet  the  Chinese  come,  even  many 
miles,  to  worship  this  thing,  bowing  down  in  the  dust  before 
its  decaying  carcase. 

Turn  we  from  a  scene  so  sordid  for  a  look  outside.  Is  it  not 
splendid  ?  The  river  rippling  its  rapid  race  down  to  the 
waiting  tide,  the  mat-sail  boats  creeping  slowly  up  against  the 
resisting  current,  the  mountains  and  valley  stretching  sunnily 
in  front,  the  white  sands  glistening  with  silvery  brilliance  on 
the  opposing  bank,  woods  ablaze  with  autumn  splendour, 
rocks  above  and  around — such  a  contrast  to  the  squalor 
behind  us,  typical  of  the  dawning  glory  we  have  the  high 


EVANGELISATION  51 

honour  of  heralding  to  this  fair  land,  which  until  this  late  age 
has  been  left  close-shrouded  in  the  foul  fog  of  dark  and 
destructive  delusion.  The  idols  of  China  are  already  very 
much  given  over  to  "  the  moles  and  the  bats,"  not  so  much 
through  the  power  of  Christianity  as  through  the  inertia  and 
degeneracy  inherent  in  idolatry  itself. 

The  journey  which  in  England  would  be  done  on  a  bicycle 
for  exercise  after  a  day's  work,  takes  us  nearly  all  day.  Tifhn 
makes  a  pleasant  break,  and  we  enjoy  our  lunch  under  a  tree 
or  in  some  rocky  cavity,  out  of  the  reach  of  old  Sol's  insistent 
rays,  your  company  being  preferable  to  his,  and  adding  a 
flavour  to  the  chicken  it  does  not  usually  possess.  Evening 
draws  in,  and  our  destination  approaches.  It  is  a  large, 
walled  village  of  4000  inhabitants,  who  bear  anything 
but  a  good  name,  for  they  are  always  spoiling  for  a 
fight.  Let  us  greet  their  moroseness  and  half-spoken  jeers 
with  a  kindly  smile,  for  a  smile  has  disarmed  many  a  foe  in 
China,  as  elsewhere. 

The  house  we  enter  is,  as  you  see,  anything  but  attractive. 
Twenty  years  ago  this  clan  and  a  neighbouring  one  still  more 
powerful  had  a  quarrel  over  the  ownership  of  a  hillside,  and 
much  fighting  resulted,  for  both  clans  armed  their  men  with 
guns,  and  a  state  of  war  was  declared.  Prisoners  were  taken 
on  either  side,  not  so  much  from  the  ranks  of  the  warriors  as 
from  among  the  innocent,  many  of  whom,  though  non-resident 
in  the  ancestral  village,  had  the  misfortune  to  bear  the  same 
clan  surname.  The  cruelties  suffered  by  these  prisoners  were 
sometimes  very  great,  and  their  capture  nearly  always  meant 
financial  ruin  by  the  time  their  redemption  had  been  brought 
about.  Deaths  and  wounds  were  a  common  occurrence, 
until,  at  last,  the  stronger  clan  brought  the  fight  to  a  climax 
by  a  night  attack,  in  which  they  succeeded  in  burning  down 
the  village  we  are  now  visiting.  This  it  is  which  accounts  for 
the  poor  quality  and  unfinished  appearance  of  most  of  the 
houses,  for  when  people  are  roofless  they  do  not  stickle  long 
for  quality,  even  if  they  have  means  to  pay  for  it. 

The  killing  of  a  few  of  their  clansmen  might  have  been 
borne,  for  they  had  reasonable  hope  of  killing  as  many  in 
return,  but  to  have  their  homes  destroyed  wholesale  was  more 
than  flesh  and  blood  could  endure.     They  must  no  longer 


52  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

spare  the  adversary,  but  must  go  vigorously  to  law  !  So,  the 
only  literary  man  in  the  clan — the  other  clan  had  a  score  or 
two — a  man  who,  though  he  is  an  opium  smoker,  has  shown 
us  much  kindness,  promptly  removed  the  venue  from  the 
local  mandarins  to  the  provincial  capital  of  Hangchow,  fought 
the  combined  forces  of  the  other  clan  before  the  provincial 
judge,  and  won  the  day.  A  great  bitterness  was,  naturally, 
left  behind,  intermarriage  between  the  two  clans  of  course 
became  impossible,  and  mutual  hatred  found  frequent  oppor- 
tunity for  expression.  Lapse  of  time  and  the  advent  of 
Christianity  have  already  produced  a  sensible  change  in  this 
state  of  feeling,  for  our  Christians  refuse  to  hate  each  other  ; 
intermarriage  is  again  becoming  possible,  and,  though  the 
nature  of  these  hillmen  is  marred  and  barbarised  by  their 
frequent  clan  fights,  with  all  the  accompanying  bloodshed  and 
cruelty,  Christianity  is  beginning  to  make  its  influence  felt, 
and  will  in  time  do  for  this  district  what  an  effete  Government 
never  attempts. 

There  is  but  a  poor  room  to  offer  you ;  the  smoke  of  the 
kitchen  stove,  as  you  see,  somewhat  uncomfortably  fills  it ; 
but,  when  your  eyes  smart  beyond  endurance,  you  can  always 
find  temporary  relief  by  putting  your  head  out  of  the  window, 
an  operation  rendered  easier  of  performance  by  the  absence  of 
glass  and  the  difficulty  of  shutting  it.  Where  are  we  to  sleep, 
do  you  ask  ?  That  is  simple  enough.  Here  are  four  short 
benches,  and  there  some  loose  boards  ;  pick  out  the  soft  ones 
for  yourself,  and  let  me  have  the  others.  When  you  have 
travelled  about  a  bit  you  will,  like  the  convict,  discover  that 
some  planks  are  softer  than  others,  that  there  really  is  a  soft 
side  to  a  plank,  though  that  side,  somehow,  seldom  seems  to  be 
the  one  on  which  you  happen  to  be  lying.  Be  thankful,  how- 
ever, for  the  boards,  hard  or  soft ;  they  are  better  than 
an  unyielding  door,  taken  from  its  sockets.  Be  especially 
thankful  you  are  not  compelled  to  sleep  in  the  family  bed  ! 

Yes,  the  place  is  somewhat  draughty  in  winter  ;  the  wails, 
as  you  see,  do  not  reach  the  rafters,  nor  the  rafters  the  tiles, 
nor  the  tiles  each  other  ;  the  spirit  of  the  hillmen  is  upon  them, 
and  "  Keep  your  distance  "  is  the  order  of  the  day,  even  in 
house-building.  But  is  it  well  to  strain  your  eyes  looking  at 
what  is  not  there  !     Be  thankful  there  is  not  less.     Soon  after 


EVANGELISATION  53 

we  first  established  ourselves  in  this  village,  the  roughs,  set  on 
by  the  "  gentry,"  decided  we  should  have  nothing  at  aU,  so 
they  promptly  smashed  up  our  tables,  benches,  lamps,  and 
some  of  our  people  at  the  same  time.  However,  you  may  look 
forward  hopefully  to  to-morrow,  for  then  we  shall  be  at  the 
rival  village,  where  we  now  have  a  decent  set  of  rooms  and  a 
nice  new  chapel  seating  over  two  hundred. 

I  have  brought  you  here  that  you  may  form  for  yourself  an 
idea  of  what  an  itinerant  ministry  really  is,  see  for  yourself 
what  results  from  it,  and  that  I  may  tell  you  on  the  very  spot 
how  I  first  came  to  evangelise  this  extensive  district. 

It  was  fifteen  years  ago.  I  was  on  a  visit  to  a  station  twenty 
miles  to  the  westward,  where  a  young  tailor,  a  native  of  this 
village,  had  first  heard  the  gospel.  He  told  a  number  of  his 
friends  at  home  about  it,  and  some  of  them  walked  the  twenty 
miles,  not  once  but  several  times,  to  hear  moie  of  it.  Urgent 
messages  were  sent  to  me  that  I  would  pay  them  a  visit,  but 
strong  objections  were  raised  by  some  of  the  older  Christians, 
for,  said  they,  it  is  like  going  into  a  tiger's  lair,  and  it  is  quite 
uncertain  whether  you  will  come  back  alive.  Yet,  here  were 
a  niftnber  of  people  calling  for  our  help,  and  the  greater  the 
need  the  greater  the  responsibility ;  so  we,  myself  and  a  native 
preacher,  set  off. 

The  journey  over  the  mountains  was  glorious,  and  as  I 
stood  on  Pisgah's  mount,  fifteen  hundred  feet  or  more  above 
our  Promised  Land,  and  viewed  the  wide  valley  which  lay  at 
our  feet,  my  heart  went  out  towards  the  sturdy  race  that 
dwelt,  and  farmed,  and  fought  amidst  these  lovely  scenes,  and 
I  prayed  that  spoils  might  be  won  for  God  amongst  them. 

It  was  not  without  anxiety  that  we  began  our  descent  of 
the  pass  ;  first  of  all  the  road  was  rugged  ;  so  too  were  the 
people  we  met — very  rugged ;  but,  while  we  were  still  a 
couple  of  miles  from  our  destination,  half  a  dozen  "  inquirers  " 
met  and  welcomed  us.  Of  those  who  met  on  that  occasion 
scarcely  any  are  left.  The  preacher,  Mr  Wang,  caught  typhoid 
fever  a  few  years  afterv\'ards  and  died  ;  dear  "  Summer,"  who 
became  the  ablest  preacher  and  worker  in  our  Mission,  and 
who  died  of  cholera  three  years  ago  while  visiting  the  coast 
stations,  was  then  but  a  young  local  preacher  ;  the  tailor,  who 
afterwards  became  a  useful  pastor,  was  taken  ill  during  the 


54  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

Boxer  troubles  of  1900,  and  died  while  a  mob  surrounded  his 
door,  threatening  to  drag  him  out  for  execution ;  the  others, 
most  of  them,  found  the  road  to  heaven  o'er  long.  Yet, 
despite  death  and  defection,  the  work  has  prospered. 

A  crowd  of  youths  and  children  followed  us  in  through  the 
village  gate,  and  a  more  objectionable  set  of  young  people 
than  those  of  Nga-diu  (Cragg  Head)  may  you  never  be  re- 
quired to  face.  A  Chinese  dinner  had  been  provided  by  a 
well-to-do  man  at  whose  house  we  were  to  stay,  and  in  whose 
ancestral  hall  the  preaching  was  to  take  place.  Tired  and 
hungry,  we  did  what  justice  we  could  to  his  feast  of  very  "  fat 
things,"  amidst  "  confusion  worse  confounded." 

The  meal  over,  we  all  went  across  the  narrow  lane  to  the 
hall,  which  belonged  to  this  man  and  his  brother.  It  was  a 
fine  large  building,  and  for  several  years  afterwards  our 
services  were  held  therein.  When  finally  driven  to  give  it  up 
we  were  indeed  sorry,  but  neither  the  man  nor  his  wife  could 
be  called  "  fruits  of  the  Spirit."  For  some  years  they  were 
refused  baptism,  and  ultimately  their  conduct  became  so  much 
at  variance  with  the  gospel  that  we  felt  a  hovel,  with  truth 
and  righteousness  in  it,  were  far  better  than  this  stately  hall 
with  such  a  man  for  landlord.  On  our  leaving  his  hall  he 
soon  ceased  attending  service,  forcibly  robbed  his  deceased 
brother's  wife  of  her  possessions,  hired  men  to  carry  her  off  at 
dead  of  night,  sold  her  away  in  "  marriage  "  far  amongst  the 
mountains,  and  joined  the  Roman  Church  to  obtain  protection 
from  the  consequences  of  his  ill-deeds.  That,  then,  is  the 
reason  why  we  are  in  this  poor,  broken-down  house.  Some 
day  we  hope  to  have  money  enough  to  build  a  chapel,  for  in 
this  village  and  neighbourhood  the  Lord  has  already  reclaimed 
much  people,  as  you  will  observe  to-morrow  when  they  unite 
for  Communion. 

This,  however,  is  a  long  aside.  Our  evening  meal  on  my 
first  visit  is  over,  and  we  have  reached  the  hall  for  our  first 
proclamation  of  the  Truth  of  God  in  this  district  of  Nanchee, 
or  Cedar  Stream.  The  hall  is  already  packed — such  a  crowd, 
crush,  and  clamour !  We  have  lighted  a  lamp  and  some 
candles,  all  brought  with  us  from  the  city,  but  they  throw 
more  light  on  the  speakers  than  on  the  crowd.  Some  ugly 
faces  are  visible,  and  we  are  told,  in  a  loud  whisper,  that  there 


EVANGELISATION  55 

are  several  bandits  amongst  the  crush.  Mr  Wang,  the  native 
preacher,  cHmbs  to  a  chair,  and  while  our  hearts  are  going  up 
quietly  to  God,  commences  to  address  the  mob.  For  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  he  perseveres  faithfully,  nobody  hearing 
him,  except  a  few  in  the  very  front ;  a  political  meet- 
ing packed  by  the  opposition  is  a  young  ladies'  school  in 
comparison. 

At  last,  having  asked  Mr  Wang  to  sit  down,  we  face  the 
congregation  in  person.  It  is  long  before  quiet  reigns,  but 
in  time  all  grows  silent  as  an  empty  church,  and  help  comes 
from  on  high  to  tell  this  people  of  the  Great  Father  and  His 
goodness  ;  their  ignorance  is  condoned,  their  sins  are  not 
spared  ;  we  preach  of  God,  of  righteousness,  of  a  judgment  to 
come,  of  salvation  and  the  life  eternal.  The  people,  no  longer 
a  noisy  mob,  listen  for  an  hour  without  sign  of  weariness, 
though  they  have  been  busj^  in  the  fields  all  day,  Finally,  we 
sit  down,  and  immediately  one  of  the  roughest  young  men  in 
the  village,  a  banditti  lieutenant,  stands  out  and  says  aloud, 
"  He's  spoken  well,  he's  spoken  well :  if  anybody  has  any- 
thing to  say  against  him  he's  got  to  talk  to  me  also."  Not 
once,  4)ut  twice,  and  again  the  third  time  the  word  has 
to  be  preached  before  we  may  retire  to  our  room,  where 
another  company  meets  for  more  talk,  until,  somewhere  in 
the  small  hours,  we  are  allowed  to  take  the  rest  our  bodies 
crave. 

Here  is  a  sequel  to  this  first  attack  on  Nanchee.  It  is  one 
of  the  great  Sundays  of  our  year,  something  like  "  Assembly 
Sunday  "  at  home.  The  Annual  District  Meetings  have  just 
been  held.  Representatives  are  here  in  the  city  from  all  the 
Circuits.  The  morning  sermon  has  been  preached,  but  it 
has  been  decided  to  turn  the  afternoon  service  into  an  experi- 
ence meeting.  No  lack  is  there  of  speakers,  though  it  is  the 
first  meeting  of  the  kind  we  have  ever  held.  They  do  not 
even  "  in  honour  prefer  one  another,"  for  three  at  a  time  are 
on  their  feet,  each  begging  the  other,  "  Permit  me  first,"  lest  he 
should  lose  this  unique  opportunity  of  testifying  what  great 
things  the  Lord  has  done  for  him.  Here  stands  one  who  has 
twice  been  beaten  nearly  to  death  for  being  a  Christian.  We 
have  seen  his  poor  body  one  black  weal  from  head  to  foot,  and 
almost  despaired  of  his  recovery.     What  does  he  wish  to  say  ? 


56  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

We  know  his  devotion  and  godliness,  but  have  never  heard 
the  story  of  his  conversion.     What  is  he  saying  ? 

"  It  was  when  Mr  Soo  paid  his  visit  first  to  Nga-diu  that  I  was 
converted.  I  was  a  violent  and  sinful  man  before  that  day. 
When  he  arrived  in  our  village  I  was  out  in  the  fields.  On 
reaching  home  I  was  told  that  a  foreigner  had  arrived,  and  was 
going  to  preach  his  foreign  doctrine  in  So-and-So's  ancestral 
hall  that  evening.  I  hastily  swallowed  my  evening  meal,  and 
set  out  in  indignation,  determined  to  find  an  opportunity  of 
upsetting  the  meeting  and  stopping  his  talk.  On  reaching 
the  hall  I  found  it  packed  to  the  very  curbstone  at  the  back, 
but  I  got  a  footing,  and  bided  my  time  for  attack.  That  time 
never  came.  As  he  preached  I  became  so  enthralled  with  the 
truths  he  spoke,  that  I  unconsciously  edged  my  way  forward, 
and,  before  the  finish,  was  surprised  to  find  that  I  had  worked 
my  way  close  up  to  the  front.  When  he  sat  down  I  longed 
for  him  to  start  afresh  and  tell  it  all  over  again  from  the 
beginning.  On  leaving,  I  did  not  know  what  had  come  to  me  ; 
one  thing  I  knew — that  I  was  a  different  being,  for  the  things 
that  were  easy  for  me  before  were  now  impossible.  I  now 
know  well  enough  what  had  happened,  for  I  was  saved  that 
night."     And  a  stout  pillar  of  the  Church  is  Ka-Kung  to-day. 

In  many  and  varied  ways  does  the  evangelist  ply  his 
vocation.  On  the  street  or  in  heathen  temple,  in  church  and 
house,  on  the  road  and  on  the  water,  from  the  player's 
theatrical  stage,  the  preacher's  pulpit,  the  narrow  and  risky 
platform  of  a  rickety  native  bench,  and  from  the  veritable 
rostrum  of  a  boat ;  in  fair  weather  and  foul,  among  the  well- 
disposed  and  the  hostile,  he  does  what  his  Master  lends  him 
strength  and  skill  to  de,  thankful  that  "  some  seed  falls  into 
good  ground."  Native  colporteurs,  Bible-women,  hospital 
preachers,  and  holders  of  "  cottage  services  "  all  share  in  the 
great  work.  How  easy  it  would  be  to  write  on  and  on  under 
this  heading  of  Evangelisation  !  These  few  things  are  told 
to  show  that  the  Gospel  "  is  the  power  of  God  to  salvation  to 
everyone  that  belie veth,"  whether  he  be  Jew,  Gentile,  or 
Chinaman. 


IV 

CHURCH  ORGANISATION 

"  For  this  cause  left  I  thee  in  Crete,  that  thou  shouldest  set  in  order 
the  things  that  are  wanting." 

When  our  missionary  has  passed  through  the  initial  stage  an(\ 
set  out  evangelising,  the  next  work  to  demand  his  attention 
will  be  the  founding  and  organisation  of  churches  throughout 
the  district  in  his  charge.  How  is  he  to  cover  his  huge  field 
with  churches,  and  on  what  basis  will  he  form  them  ?  Up  to 
the  present  his  parish,  and,  for  that  matter,  his  mind  also,  is 
as  bare  as  the  palm  of  his  hand,  so  far  as  definite  plans  are 
concerned.  What  is  he  to  do  ?  How  is  he  to  begin  ?  What 
an  utterly  hopeless  task  it  seems  !  No  wonder  his  unsym- 
pathetic fellow-countryman,  who  knows  nothing  of  the  heart- 
sickness  which  makes  him  faint,  nor  of  the  courage  which 
refuses  to  let  him  play  the  coward,  calls  him  fool  or  hypocrite, 
but  St  Paul,  and  others  who  have  levered  up  the  world,  have 
suffered  a  like  obloquy.  So  the  same  Power  which  urged 
St  Paul,  urges  him  also  to  look  around  for  suitable  openings. 

Being  gifted  with  a  measure  of  organising  ability,  he  tries  to 
obtain  a  map  of  his  district,  and  probably  finds  that  no  such 
map  exists.  Should  he,  perchance,  light  on  one,  it  is  probably 
of  the  most  primitive  description.  By  patient  inquiry  he 
finds  that  his  field  is,  say,  a  hundred  miles  long,  by  perhaps 
as  many  in  width,  and  he  is  told  that  there  are  thousands  of 
villages  within  its  borders.  Bravely  he  resolves  that,  by  the 
help  of  God,  every  town  shall  have  a  station — later,  by 
Divine  grace,  he  may  be  permitted  to  grow  to  the  notion  of 
"  every  village  its  church."  In  the  meantime,  however, 
every  town  a  church  is  only  a  dream.  He  has  no  native  staff, 
so  cannot  leave  the  city  where  services  have  already  been 
instituted.      His  converts  are  by  no  means  prepossessing, 

57 


58  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

save  to  himself,  and,  blessed  ignorance  !  he  sees  swans  even 
in  his  very  geese.  Why  does  he  not  hire  a  hall  in  each  town, 
you  ask  ?  Because  there  are  no  halls  to  let,  and  if  there  were, 
twenty  years  or  less  ago  nobody  would  have  dared  to  hire 
them  to  a  foreigner. 

How,  then,  is  he  to  proceed  with  his  planless  effort  after 
church  extension  and  organisation  ?  Though  preaching  and 
evangelising  with  some  regularity,  he  is  still  in  the  infant 
stage  as  a  preacher,  and  badly  equipped  for  wider  work. 
Nevertheless  he  must  do  something  ;  he  cannot  sit  still. 
Blindly  he  avails  himself  of  his  various  opportunities— - 
blindly,  yet  led — and  his  work  somehow  begins  to  grow, 
"  he  knoweth  not  how,"  for  the  earth  seems  to  "  bring  forth 
fruit  of  itself,  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  after  that,  the  full 
corn  in  the  ear."  A  man,  Sunday  by  Sunday,  comes  from 
a  village  four  miles  away,  and  one  fine  day  brings  another. 
A  city  Christian  would  like  to  go  to  that  village  and  hold  a 
Sabbath  service.  He  is  gladly  encouraged  to  do  so,  and 
goes  again  and  again.  By-and-by  a  small  church  is  formed, 
nobody  knows  how,  but  there  it  is,  and  from  it  another 
springs,  and  from  that  still  another. 

The  banyan  tree  illustrates  the  process.  Independence 
is  impossible  in  the  Christian  Church ;  interdependence 
is  a  necessity  both  to  inception  and  growth;  For  we  "  are 
one  body  in  Christ,  and  every  one  members  one  of  another." 
Especially  is  this  the  case  with  church  extension  in  China. 
The  local  stock,  an  offshoot  of,  and  yet  united  to  the  older 
and  sturdier  stem  ten  thousand  miles  away,  itself  throws 
outwards  and  downwards  other  branches.  These,  banyan- 
like, branch  and  root,  until  they  meet  the  farthest  outpost 
of  some  other  offshoot  of  this  mighty  tree  of  the  Lord's 
right-hand  planting,  which,  deep-rooted  in  Calvary's  Mount, 
and  watered  with  His  own  most  precious  blood,  spreads 
ever  onwards,  till  its  farthest  branch  blossoms  with  carnation 
glory  in  the  heart  of  China's  most  distant  hamlet.  For  "  I, 
if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto  Me." 

Starting  a  branch  church  at  Underbridge  resulted  in  an 
outgrowth  of  a  score  more  shoots  ;  the  branch  that  struck 
into  the  earth  at  Crystal  Lily  has  added  over  a  score  more  ; 
Rainbow  Bridge,  or  rather  the  small  fishing  hamlet  of  Oyster 


CHURCH  ORGANISATION  59 

Cove,  has  struck  thirty  other  roots  ;  Greenfields  a  similar 
number,  and  so  on.  How  did  this  come  about  ?  How  are 
the  services  conducted  ?  What  attempt  is  being  made  at 
Church  government  ?  These  are  points  this  chapter  is 
meant  to  elucidate. 

First,  then,  how  does  a  church  come  into  existence  ?  Here 
is  a  concrete  instance.  In  the  year  1886,  or  1887,  I  started 
an  opium  refuge  on  our  city  church  premises,  and,  by  the 
aid  of  simple  remedies,  helped  not  a  few  in  bondage  to  free 
themselves,  at  any  rate  temporarily,  from  their  chain.  Our 
treatment  was  as  much  moral  as  physical,  for,  recognising 
the  hopelessness  of  permanently  liberating  these  men — whose 
will  power  had  been  so  severely  shaken  by  indulgence  in 
so  demoralising  a  habit — except  by  the  aid  of  a  Power 
external  to  themselves,  earnest  prayer  was  daily  offered, 
in  which  they  all  joined.  It  was,  moreover,  expressly  urged 
upon  them  that  the  only  certain  cure  was  a  change  of  heart, 
of  life,  and  of  companionship,  which  could  only  be  obtained 
through  Christ  Jesus  and  His  Church.  Our  correctness  in 
this  attitude,  the  subsequent  lives  of  these  men  sufficiently 
confirmed. 

One  result  of  our  attempt  to  do  the  best  we  knew  for  this 
unfortunate  class  was,  that  four  men  from  Pi-lien,  Crystal 
Lily,  who  had  been  cured  in  our  small  refuge,  returned  home, 
resolved  to  start  a  branch  church  in  their  village  of  3000 
inhabitants,  a  village  situated  among  glorious  mountains, 
more  than  thirty  miles  north-west  of  the  city.  Their 
outfit  consisted  of  four  hymn-books  and  a  couple  of  New 
Testaments,  and,  after  reaching  home,  they  met  together 
every  evening  and  on  Sundays,  to  sing  from  the  hymn-books 
and  read  and  expound  to  each  other  the  Testament.  What 
sort  of  a  service  it  was  they  thus  held  the  reader  may  exercise 
his  ingenuity  by  endeavouring  to  imagine,  and  he  will  fail. 
Not  one  of  them  had  learnt  to  sing,  so  perforce  they  all  sang 
different  tunes,  all  original  compositions,  and  each  in  a 
different  key.  Not  one  of  these  men  could  read  correctly, 
and,  even  had  he  been  able  to  do  so,  his  ignorance  of  Christian 
terms,  and  of  the  meaning  of  Scripture  teaching,  would  have 
made  his  exposition  at  least  quaint,  probably  heterodox 
enough  to  have  had  him  excommunicated  from  every  Church 


6o  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

in  Christendom.  Neither  had  any  one  of  them  prayed,  or 
heard  prayer,  before  his  entry  into  the  refuge,  where  he  had 
remained  less  than  ten  days,  much  of  the  time  in  physical 
weakness  and  considerable  distress.  Indeed,  the  very  word 
we  use  for  prayer,  tao-kao,  was,  in  their  ignorance,  perverted 
to  pao-kao,  "  protective  information." 

This  purely  native  attempt  at  church  foundation  continued 
for  a  month  or  two,  when,  learning  that  I  was  to  visit  the 
neighbourhood  on  an  evangelistic  tour,  they  sent  word 
begging  me  to  visit  them  also,  which  I  was  only  too  pleased 
to  do.  The  journey  to  their  beautifully  situated  village  was 
through  delightful  scenery.  On  the  way  I  was  met  by  one 
of  the  four,  who  was  so  much  changed  for  the  better,  so  stout 
and  healthy-looking,  that  it  was  difficult  to  recognise  him. 
At  his  home  a  feast  had  been  provided,  and  after  "  enjoying  " 
it,  we  adjourned  to  an  adjacent  ancestral  hall,  where  we  spent 
a  long  and  profitable  evening,  telling  our  Message  to  the 
assembled  crowd.  The  result  was  that  some  others  now 
decided  to  join  in  forming  a  church,  and  begged  that  we 
would  send  a  preacher  to  assist  them. 

At  that,  the  first  publication  of  the  gospel  in  Crystal  Lily, 
a  youth  of  twenty  was  present,  who  there  and  then  made  up 
his  mind  to  know  more  about  what  had  been  said.  He 
became  an  inquirer,  later  was  admitted  to  Church  fellowship, 
soon  went  out  at  his  own  expense  as  a  local  preacher,  was 
formally  appointed  in  due  course,  and  very  early  admitted 
to  the  native  ministry,  despite  objections  raised  against  his 
youth  by  some  of  the  seniors.  That  young  man  was  Mr 
"  Summer,"  who  became  the  ablest  preacher,  the  most 
devoted  worker,  the  best  organiser,  and  the  bravest  defender 
of  Christianity  that  our  work  has  ever  seen.  Shall  we  ever 
look  upon  his  like  again  ?  He  verily  gave  his  life  for  the 
gospel. 

We  were  very  short-handed  in  those  days — it  is,  indeed,  a 
condition  which  may  be  described  as  chronic.  We  had  only 
one  preacher,  and  yet  had  been  bold  enough  to  start  five 
or  six  out-stations  ;  but,  determined  that  this  opportunity 
at  Crystal  LUy  should  not  be  lost,  we  promised  to  send  our 
only  preacher,  Mr  Chang,  a  man  of  fine  spirit,  who  later  wore 
himself  out  with  earnest  preaching  and  hard   travelling. 


CHURCH  ORGANISATION  6i 

This  increase  in  the  demand  for  preachers  induced  us  to 
use  whatever  raw  material  we  could  lay  our  hands  upon, 
resulting  in  the  establishment  of  a  Pauline  order  of  workers, 
men  who  earned  their  living  during  the  week,  and  went  out 
for  the  week-end  to  take  services  at  whatever  stations  they 
might  be  appointed.  Many  of  them  had,  and  still  have, 
better  qualities  of  leg  than  head,  being  better  itinerants  than 
preachers.  Nevertheless  our  "  local  preachers  "  are  to-day 
the  backbone  of  the  work  in  Wenchow,  as  they  are  the  "  back- 
bone of  Methodism "  in  England.  Of  the  hundred  and 
fifty  of  our  services  held  Sunday  by  Sunday  in  this  district, 
over  a  hundred  are  conducted  by  this  fine  body  of  men,  who 
also  form  our  nursery  ground  for  the  native  ministry. 

When  Mr  Chang  arrived  at  Crystal  Lily,  his  first  business, 
after  obtaining  a  resting-place  for  himself  in  the  home  of 
one  of  the  inquirers,  was  to  arrange  a  place  of  meeting. 
This  is  by  no  means  so  easy  as  to  the  reader  may  appear. 
In  England  there  is  no  difficulty  in  holding  services  in  the 
humblest  cottage,  and  there  having  perfect  privacy,  for  an 
Englishman's  home  is  his  castle.  Very  different  is  the 
Chinaman's  home.  A  man  of  the  masses  cannot  afford 
a  house  all  to  himself.  He  has  to  content  himself  with  a 
kitchen  and  a  bedroom,  only  separated  from  his  neighbours 
by  a  thin  board  partition,  which  partition  is  almost  more 
a  hindrance  than  an  aid  to  privacy,  for  what  is  more  tempting 
to  the  eye  than  a  hole,  or  a  crack  between  two  iU-fitting 
boards  ! 

To  every  house  there  is  a  large  common  room,  supposed 
to  be  kept  for  visitors  or  for  state  occasions  such  as  funerals 
or  weddings,  but  in  reality  given  very  much  over  to  farm 
implements  and  produce.  I  once  preached  in  such  a  "  hall  " 
or  drawing-room,  with  a  coffin  behind  me.  Nor  was  the 
coffin  empty,  for  it  had  encased  a  corpse  for  the  preceding 
six  months,  awaiting  a  propitious  date  for  interment.  I 
have  preached  in  many  such  "  drawing-rooms,"  where  a 
litter  of  pigs,  grumbling  loudly  at  the  length  and  tastelessness 
of  my  sermon,  has  occupied  one  comer  ;  the  sweepings  of 
the  floor — specially  broomed  for  the  occasion,  and  probably 
in  my  very  presence — have  occupied  another ;  agricultural 
implements  have  been  ranged  on  both  sides  and  above  me ; 

D 


62  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

a  smoky,  chimneyless,  kerosene  lamp  has  choked  freedom 
of  utterance  ;  and  the  room,  to  the  very  edge  of  the  verandah 
outside  has  been  packed  with  a  crowd  of  evaporating  farmers, 
who,  tired  though  they  were  with  their  day's  toil,  have 
'ood  for  two  hours  listening  to  the  speakers,  native  and 
foreign. 

Mr  Chang  was  fortunate  in  persuading  the  neighbours  of 
th3  man  who  gave  me  the  feast  on  my  hrst  visit  to  Crystal 
Lily,  to  assent  to  the  meetings  being  held  in  the  common 
"  hall,"  or  drawing-room  of  their  house.  In  some  such 
room  as  this  half  our  churches  still  meet,  but  in  so  large  a 
village  such  an  arrangement  could  only  be  temporary.  The 
system  has  many  disadvantages,  for  perhaps  a  wedding  is 
to  occur,  and  then  our  "  hall  "  must  be  handed  over  for 
several  days  to  the  happy  family.  Or,  perhaps,  a  neighbour 
dies,  and  then  in  some  cases  there  is  trouble,  for  the  relatives 
1  >y  the  blame  at  the  door  of  the  Church,  as  who  can  doubt 
t.iat  all  this  singing  and  praying  is  bad  for  the  health  both  of 
gods  and  ancestors,  and  is  driving  them  out  of  the  house  ? 
At  heart  we  fully  expect  it  will  do  so  some  day. 

In  the  case  of  Crystal  Lily,  as  the  number  of  converts 
increased,  a  more  suitable  place  than  the  one  in  whch  we 
were  meeting  soon  became  necessary.  Such  was  happily 
found  in  a  large  ancestral  temple,  in  which  some  of  the 
converts  had  an  interest.  The  suggestion  was  made  that 
we  should  hire  the  building,  but — would  the  members  of 
this  branch  of  the  clan  be  willing  ?  Was  it  likely  they  would 
consent  to  the  leligion  which  was  opposed,  not  only  to  idols 
but  to  ancestral  worship,  finding  a  home  within  their  temple 
walls  !  To  my  amazement,  however,  all  who  had  an  interest 
in  the  temple  gave  their  assent,  and  we  hired  it  for  a  very 
small  sum  per  annum,  on  the  reasonable  condition  that  we 
should  give  way  to  the  clan  on  the  occasion  of  its  annual 
gathering. 

In  this  commodious  hall  we  held  services  week  by  week 
for  many  years.  When,  later,  it  became  too  small  for  our 
growing  congregation,  we  were  able  to  leave  it  in  decidedly 
better  condition  than  we  found  it,  and  were,  moreover, 
allowed  to  rent  a  much  larger  one,  in  which  we  met  till  last 
autumn,  when  our  lovely  new  church  was  opened,  the  most 


CHURCH  ORGANISATION  63 

beautiful  building  we  have,  towards  which  our  Crystal  Lily 
people  contributed  most  handsomely. 

A  sense  of  incongruity  obtrudes  itself  on  first  holding 
Christian  worship  in  an  ancestral  temple.  Imagine  such  a 
place  if  you  can.  The  building  is,  let  us  say,  eighty  feet  long 
by  thirty  deep.  A  fifth  of  its  length  is  partitioned  off  at 
either  end — for  kitchen,  and  rooms  for  general  use  ;  the  main 
hall  is  open  from  end  to  end  towards  the  courtyard,  somewhat 
like  what  a  country  chapel  in  England  would  be  with  its  side- 
wall  taken  out.  The  preacher  faces  this  open  chasm,  through 
which  the  weather  comes  at  will ;  his  congregation  has  its 
tails  towards  it,  and  is  seated  on  narrow,  backless  benches  of 
treble  hardness.  He  places  his  Bible  and  hymn-book  on  the 
sacrificial  table  or  altar  in  front  of  him  ;  behind  are  ranged 
the  dusty,  wooden  tablets  of  the  deceased  progenitors ;  and, 
on  the  partition  wall  at  the  back  of  them,  is  sometimes  painted 
a  representation  of  the  founder  of  this  particular  branch  of  the 
clan.  Farther  on,  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  principal  shrine, 
are  paintings,  on  the  one  hand  of  the  guardian  deity  of  the 
land,  and  on  the  other  of  some  other  deity. 

In  front  of  the  tablets  and  deities  are  numerous,  shallow, 
oblong  bowls  for  sticks  of  incense  ("  joss-sticks  "),  which  are 
stuck  upright  into  the  ashes  contained  in  the  bowl.  All  is  in 
the  usual  state  of  dirt  and  untidiness  common  to  China,  for 
the  temples  of  this  land  are,  as  some  one  remarked  of  the  negro, 
picturesque  objects  at  a  distance  that  will  not  bear  a  closer 
inspection.  Yet  we  have  counted  it  a  privilege  to  be  per- 
mitted to  hire  more  than  ten  such  halls  for  Church  purposes,  a 
privilege  extremely  unusual  in  China,  That  we  are  able  to 
rent  such  buildings  at  all  is  the  highest  testimony  that  can  bt 
given  to  the  character  of  our  converts,  and  the  respect  in 
which  they  are  held  by  their  fellow-clansmen.  Nor  is  this 
due  to  any  pandering  to  idolatry  on  the  part  of  our  people, 
who  are  uncompromisingly  Puritan.  If  we  could  only  induce 
the  people  everywhere  to  turn  these  ancestral  temples  to 
Christian  uses,  very  little  chapel  building  would  be  necessary, 
for  with  little  alteration  they  are  well  adapted  for  Christian 
meeting-places. 

Up  to  the  present  our  services  have  been  of  the  simplest 
description,  so  simple  that  unlearned  men  might  conduct 


64  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

them  with  profit  to  others.  Hymns,  voluntary  prayer. 
Scripture  reading,  and  an  exhortation,  such  is  our  type  of 
service  in  both  town  and  country.  Choirs,  organs,  and  in- 
creased ornateness,  refinement,  and  beauty  of  service  are  often 
longed  for  by  the  missionary,  but  in  the  initial  stages  of  the 
work  they  are  impossible,  and,  even  if  possible,  might  prove 
rather  a  hindrance  than  a  help  to  progress.  Even  now,  many 
who  hear  the  gospel  and  are  inclined  towards  it,  are  kept 
away  by  fear  of  our  hymn-book !  They,  in  their  ignorance, 
think  Christians  are  compelled  to  learn  to  read  hymns,  and 
they  dread  their  inability.  Often  have  I  heard  interested 
hearers  say,  "  Tsz  p'o  'oh-fu-ch'i,"  "  I  fear  I  could  not  learn." 
Beauty  and  charm  in  our  services  are  therefore  entirely  lack- 
ing ;  they  will  come  as  the  Church — decays,  says  one,  as  it 
grows  in  grace,  says  another. 

The  singing  is  more  remarkable  for  energy  than  for  sweet- 
ness. Every  man,  woman,  and  child  puts  forth  the  utmost 
effort  of  throat  and  chest,  and,  in  verity,  "  lifts  high  the  lofty 
strain."  As  to  tone,  the  volume  of  nasal  sound  would  move 
a  pronounced  Yankee  to  shake  hands  with  them  all  round. 
The  Chinese  are  fond  of  music,  but  musical  tastes  differ  even 
in  Europe,  and  the  Chinaman's  fancy  is  for  music  of  the 
squeaky  order,  a  stage  inferior  to  the  bagpipe. 

Knowing  nothing  whatever  of  harmony,  they  sing  only  the 
air,  hence  in  our  services  treble,  alto,  tenor,  and  bass  voices  all 
sing  the  same  note,  often  with  an  interval  of  two  octaves. 
Singing  in  unison  is  very  charming  for  a  change,  but  when  it 
is  all  and  always  unison,  one  who  has  been  accustomed  to 
richer  forms  finds  it  truly  mono-ton-ous.  To  the  Chinaman, 
however,  even  this  form  of  singing  is  a  novelty,  for  the  only 
approach  to  congregational  singing  outside  Christianity  is  the 
drone  of  the  Buddhist  monk.  We  are  introducing  an  abso- 
lutely new  art  into  Chinese  life. 

Years  ago,  when  our  hymn  singing  was  a  distressing  jumble, 
I  deemed  it  best  to  put  a  narrow  limit  on  the  number  of  our 
tunes,  in  order  to  be  rid  of  the  painful  sense  of  dissension  and 
strife  that  the  singing  of  a  hymn  produced.  Hence,  to  this 
day,  we  have  only  one  long  metre,  one  common  metre,  one 
short  metre,  and  so  on.  There  are  occasional  disadvantages 
in  this  system,  as,  for  instance,  when  the  preacher  chooses 


CHURCH  ORGANISATION  65 

nothing  but  common  metres,  and  the  same  tune  has  to  be 
sung  three  or  even  four  times  during  a  service  ;  but  such  is  a 
rare,  ahnost  unknown  event,  for  our  preachers  are  generally 
too  bright  for  this  sort  of  repetition.  The  general  result  of 
limitation  in  the  number  of  tunes  has  been  excellent,  for  in 
town  and  country  we  have  for  China  really  good  singing ; 
accord  has  taken  the  place  of  discord,  and  the  volume  of 
sound  is  at  times  prodigious. 

As  to  instrumental  music,  a  native  flute,  a  kind  of  clarionet, 
and  the  two-stringed  fiddle  have  been  introduced  into  a  few 
village  services  where  there  happens  to  be  sufficient  talent  for 
so  great  an  undertaking,  and  in  some  places  they  are  effective, 
especially  when  the  congregation  starts  the  tune  in  the  same 
key  as  the  band.  Occasionally  one's  Sunday  feelings  are 
jarred  by  hearing  the  band  play  ballads  of  a  distinctly  earthly 
order — their  only  music — immediately  before  the  service  ; 
nevertheless,  perhaps  indeed  therefore,  we  hope  to  see  this 
experiment  developed  on  superior  lines  some  day.  Chris- 
tianity has  come  to  elevate  every  form  of  life  in  the  world,  and 
the  Chinaman  must  not  be  deprived  of  his  share. 

Fifteen  years  ago,  I  engaged  a  couple  of  native  musicians 
to  come  and  deprive  me  of  my  summer  afternoon  siesta  by 
teaching  me  their  native  music,  including  their  native  nota- 
tion. It  was  an  interesting  and  informing  experiment,  and 
from  that  time  Chinese  music  has  ceased  to  be  an  agony  of 
squeakery.  There  is  method  in  it,  and,  to  be  effective,  no 
mean  powers  of  execution  are  demanded. 

The  outcome  of  these  studies  was  a  paper  read  before  the 
Ningpo  Missionary  Association,  and  published  in  the  Chinese 
Recorder,  with  special  reference  to  the  feasibility  of  improving 
our  Church  music  on  Chinese  lines,  even  of  modifying  some 
of  the  better-class  ballads  for  congregational  use.  Since  then 
a  few  have  been  adapted  in  Ningpo  and  elsewhere,  but,  up  to 
the  present,  our  efforts  here  have  been  limited.  The  following 
specimen  is  adapted  from  the  ballad  known  as  the  Mo  Li  Hwa, 
or  "Jasmine  Flower."  As  it  is  in  the  pentatonic  scale,  the 
common  scale  of  the  country,  and,  probably  the  oldest  exist- 
ing scale  in  the  world,  it  is  easily  learned  by  the  people.  Half 
tones  are  impossible  to  the  untrained,  for  which  reason  fourths 
and  sevenths  are  not  used,  hence  the  pentatonic,  or  five-tone 


66 


A  MISS/ON  IN  CHINA 


scale.  Hence,  also,  in  any  English  tune  containing  half  tones, 
or  fourths  and  sevenths,  the  native  naturally  sings  the  nearest 
pentatonic  note,  with  weird  effect  on  the  cultivated  nerves  of 
the  hyper-sensitive  foreigner. 

The  words  below  are  a  translation  into  "  Mandarin  "  of 
"  Holy  Bible,  Book  Divine." 


Tune — "Jasmine  Flower." 

dn^iz-j n -^-1— Ut-1— 


7s. 


I 

-Te    shu.     S 
i's  book.     1 

J. 


Sheng  Ching  yuan  she   Shang-Te     shu.     Sheh-tsai   she     wo        pao  tsang-k'u. 
Holy  Bible   originally   is   God's   book.      Truly  it    is      my     precious   treasury. 

I      J     ,     I      J  J        i     I 


:t: 


--l 


BEEEffEpEpEt^^E^ 


e2;:n 


mmmm 

I     I     I      I      I  II       I 


^E^E^.^ 


-&- 


Che   wo   sheng  she      ho-chu       lai.  Che     wo     sz    hou        ho-chu   kwei. 

Shows  my  life     is        whence      come.      Shows  me  dead  afterwards  where  return 

'S'---gziz2^=2^=:^?znz5zz^z=^— s^zzfzdzizz^-zi^n 


ii;-.^zza:z:e-="-?' 


bz^-p=tz=^ 


-&—  ■ 


Our  preachers  vary  as  much  as  do  those  at  home.  We  have 
sermons  of  all  kinds  and  qualities,  good,  bad,  and  indifferent ; 
quiet,  declamatory,  seldom  argumentative,  sometimes  dra- 
matic. None  of  them  rise  to  the  spiritual  height,  or  have  the 
mystic  glow,  or  develop  the  same  pathos  that  is  reached  in  the 
best  home  pulpits  ;  it  may  take  generations  of  Christian 
experience  to  evolve  the  rich  spiritual  insight,  and  even  the 
vocabulary  for  expressing  it,  that  is  the  heritage  of  our  in- 
fluential English  minister.  But  the  Chinese  preacher's 
sermon  is  suited  to  his  audience,  being  practical,  parabolic, 
persuasive. 

Where  does  our  preacher  come  from  ?  What  class  does  he 
belong  to  ?  How  is  he  trained  ?  And  what  is  his  pay  ? 
These  are  all  questions  of  first-rate  importance  in  the  organisa- 
tion of  a  Mission,  for  what  is  a  Mission  without  preachers  ! 


CHURCH  ORGANISATION  67 

Where  he  comes  from,  we  know  not.  "  The  wind  bloweth 
where  it  listeth,  and  thou  hearest  the  sound  thereof,  but  canst 
not  tell  whence  it  cometh  and  whither  it  goeth."  He  comes  a 
pagan  and  idolater  to  our  service.  The  Word  lays  hold  of  him. 
He  becomes  a  convert  and  attends  service  regularly.  He 
possesses  some  gift  of  speech  above  his  fellows,  and,  as  local 
preachers  are  required,  in  process  of  time  he  is  pressed  into 
the  service.  Subsequently  he  proves  himself  superior  to  his 
co-workers,  both  as  preacher  and  business  man,  and  after  a 
time  is  recommended  for  ten  days'  Scripture  training  in  the 
Pastor's  City  Class.  There  he  shows  his  worth,  and  ultimately 
is  appointed  as  Evangelist,  or  as  Assistant  Pastor  under  a 
senior.  Such  is  all  the  teaching  the  majority  have  hitherto 
been  able  to  obtain,  nor  have  they  as  yet  needed  much  more  ; 
but  the  day  is  now  dawning  when  men,  however  well  educated, 
must  have  a  specific  course  of  training.  Three  young  men 
have  already  undergone  such  a  course  in  our  College,  and  are 
now  our  ablest  preachers. 

Our  preachers,  except  in  a  few  instances,  and  those  ex- 
ceptions by  no  means  our  least  useful  men,  do  not  come  to  us 
without  education.  Two  were  graduates  before  joining  us, 
and  several  have  sat  for  the  degree  examination.  Others 
were  schoolmasters,  or  tradesmen  with  fair  education.  Men 
with  such  a  mental  training  as  these  readily  find  "  professors  " 
in  the  books  we  are  able  to  put  into  their  hands,  and  it  is 
rather  character  training  they  need  at  the  hands  of  their 
pastor  than  mental  development.  If  the  missionary  be  wise 
in  Scripture  exposition,  trained  in  homiletics,  and  gifted  in 
prayer,  three  months  with  such  men  as  these  will  produce  a 
profound  and  lasting  influence  on  their  lives.  Alas  !  so  many 
are  the  demands  on  the  missionary's  time,  and  so  insistent  are 
the  demands  for  the  man  himself  to  get  to  work,  that  even 
this  short  time  is  well-nigh  impossible,  especially  as  only  one 
such  individual  turns  up  at  a  time,  and  to  spend  several  hours 
a  day  with  him  alone  seems  unjustifiable. 

As  to  the  pay  they  receive,  it  is  rated  a  little  higher  than  the 
ordinary  pay  of  a  native  schoolmaster,  a  class  proverbially  the 
most  ill-paid  in  this  country,  although  China  has  hitherto 
boasted  so  loudly  of  its  learning.  Our  scale  has  hitherto  been 
four  or  five  dollars   (eight  or  ten  shillings)  a  month,  with 


68  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

travelling  expenses,  food  included,  during  all  the  time  he  is 
away  from  his  home,  but  the  scale  of  pay  will  soon  have  to 
be  somewhat  increased.  Nearly  all  our  pastors  have  a  little 
property  and  live  in  their  own  houses,  hence  they  are  appointed 
one  Sunday  a  month  near  their  own  homes,  or  two  Sundays 
together  in  every  second  month,  and  the  rest  of  the  time 
they  spend  at  their  stations.  By  this  means  they  are  not 
long  separated  from  wife  and  family,  and  the  mission  is  saved 
serious  expense  in  the  renting,  furnishing,  and  general  upkeep 
of  pastors'  houses.  Moreover,  many  of  these  men  would  find  it 
extremely  difficult  to  remove  from  their  ancestral  surround- 
ings, to  say  nothing  of  lack  of  qualification  on  the  part  of 
the  wives  of  some  of  them. 

How  did  we  obtain  our  first  preacher  ?  The  first  we  used 
was  borrowed,  but  our  own  first — there  he  stands  before 
me  now,  the  anointed  of  God,  though  perhaps  you  would 
not  think  so  judging  by  externals.  Dear  old  Chang  !  he 
is  in  heaven.  This  chapter  is  hardly  the  place  for  his  story. 
It  shall  come  later.  Suffice  it  that  he  was  sent  to  us  of  God. 
We  did  not  seek  him,  did  not  indeed  know  where  or  how 
to  seek  such  a  man,  but  we  longed  for  him  with  all  our  hearts. 
Ignorant  of  letters  though  he  was,  the  Church  of  God  in 
Wenchow,  and  our  own  Mission  especially,  will  ever  owe 
to  him  an  unredeemable  debt. 

Self-support,  while  still  in  its  infancy,  is  by  no  means 
neglected.  A  collection  is  taken  every  Sunday  morning  in 
the  city  church,  and  in  many  of  the  country  churches  a 
similar  collection,  or  an  annual  subscription,  is  made,  generally 
at  harvest  time,  towards  church  expenses.  It  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  people  as  a  whole  are  poor,  many  of  them 
living  a  mere  hand-to-mouth  existence.  In  numerous 
villages  the  ordinary  copper  cash — it  takes  forty  of  these 
to  make  a  penny — is  quite  a  scarce  commodity,  and  to  ex- 
pect a  collection  of  even  these  is  to  be  disappointed.  Collec- 
tions in  kind,  rice,  potatoes,  eggs,  are  sometimes  made,  but 
these  are  cumbrous  and  difficult  to  manage. 

The  Chinese  do  not  usually  give  well  for  general  purposes ; 
that  is  a  national  characteristic ;  but  for  specific  objects, 
buildings,  furniture,  individual  poor,  etc.,  our  Christians  are 
ready  to  give  according  to  their  ability.     For  instance,  the 


CHURCH  ORGANISATION  69 

members  of  our  Crystal  Lily  Circuit  have  just  subscribed 
a  thousand  dollars  towards  their  new  church  ;  the  members 
at  Rainbow  Bridge  raised  four  hundred  towards  their  new 
premises  a  few  years  ago,  and  have  recently  collected  a  similar 
sum  for  the  larger  building  which  has  just  been  erected  ;  the 
members  at  Lewmarket  have  promised  a  like  amount ;  so 
have  the  Greenfields  Christians  ;  at  three  small  and  poor  places 
sums  of  four  hundred,  two  hundred,  and  one  hundred  respec- 
tively have  just  been  raised.  The  City  Christians  two  years 
ago  spent  over  four  hundred  dollars  in  painting  and  furnishing 
our  city  church,  which  is  one  of  the  most  commodious  in 
China,  and  now  nearly  twenty  other  village  churches  are 
collecting  funds  to  provide  themselves  with  suitable  premises. 

The  question  of  self-support  must  also  be  viewed  in  the 
light  of  Sabbath  observance.  When  a  man  becomes  a 
Christian  he  naturally  desires  to  observe  the  Lord's  Day. 
This  is  easy  enough  in  England,  where  work  is  suspended 
and  shops  are  closed  on  that  day  ;  or  in  Africa,  where  work 
is  undertaken  as  a  rest  from  rest.  In  China,  however,  work 
is  the  chief  thing  in  life,  and  there  is  no  such  thing  as  Sunday, 
except  once  in  a  twelvemonth,  at  the  New  Year,  when  every- 
body takes  a  week  of  Sundays  aU  at  once.  Consequently, 
on  a  man  becoming  a  Christian,  in  a  great  many  cases,  especi- 
ally in  the  towns,  he  immediately  loses  one  day's  pay  in  seven. 
In  order  to  keep  the  Sabbath  and  make  ends  meet,  some 
of  the  very  poor  Christians  have  to  live  very  frugally  on  the 
Sabbath,  a  few  even  know  what  it  is  to  fast  on  that  day. 
This  loss  of  a  seventh  of  a  man's  income  naturally  impairs 
very  seriously  his  giving  powers. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  many  do  not  join  us  through  fear 
of  the  Sabbath,  To  provide  for  this  class  of  persons,  I  many 
years  ago  instituted  evening  services  in  various  parts  of  the 
city,  both  on  Sundays  and  week-nights,  and  similar  services 
are  also  held  in  many  of  our  country  stations.  In  the  city 
they  are  well  attended,  four  of  them  having  each  a  regular 
attendance  of  sixty  to  a  hundred,  and  all  have  proved  excellent 
feeders  of  the  Church. 

Sabbath  observance  is  especially  difficult  for  the  shop- 
keeping  class  and  their  servants,  and  it  is  always  important 
for  the  missionary  to  bear  in  mind  that  "  the  Sabbath  was 


70  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  the  Sabbath."  Nevertheless, 
not  a  few  of  our  people  have  felt  the  value  of  the  day  of 
rest  sufficiently  to  prefer  losing  their  situations  rather  than 
forfeit  the  opportunity  for  spiritual  exercise.  Of  course  the 
burden  does  not  press  equally  on  all  classes  ;  farmers,  for 
instance,  need  be  but  little  affected  by  it,  save  at  sowing  and 
harvest  times,  and  in  dry  seasons,  when  every  hour  must  be 
spent  in  pumping  water  into  the  fields. 

This  difficulty  about  Sabbath  observance  induced  some 
of  the  earlier  missionaries  to  provide  a  dinner  in  the  middle 
of  the  day  for  their  converts.  Such  was  no  doubt  a  good 
and  kindly  custom  when  the  numbers  might  be  counted  on 
the  fingers,  but  with  larger  congregations  it  naturally  became 
not  only  a  burden  to  the  missionary,  but  a  temptation  to 
the  would-be  "  rice  Christian."  In  these  days  also,  in  the 
street  chapels  it  was  customary  for  pipes,  tobacco,  and  tea 
to  be  provided,  wherewith  to  open  up  conversation  ;  but  that 
is  all  a  matter  of  the  long  distant  past,  good  enough  in  its 
day,  but  now  no  longer  needed. 

In  our  own  work,  the  first  attempt  at  self-support  was 
to  induce  the  country  churches  to  find  their  own  places  of 
worship,  and  now  they  do  so  in  eighty  per  cent,  of  our  stations. 
In  some  cases  this  involves  the  renting  of  an  ancestral  hall 
or  a  room.  As  a  rule,  however,  it  does  not  demand  the  raising 
of  money,  but  simply  that  some  member  lend  his  house  on 
Sundays,  and  on  certain  week  evenings.  In  some  cases 
several  houses,  even  in  separate  villages,  take  the  services 
in  turn.  The  loan  of  such  a  house  is  by  no  means  as  small 
a  matter  as  may  appear  on  the  surface,  for  it  involves  the 
housekeeper  in  both  trouble  and  expense — trouble  in  putting 
the  room  in  order,  and  littering  his  house  with  borrowed 
benches  ;  expense  in  providing — free  for  all  comers — the 
usual  huge  teapot  of  tea ;  firing  to  cook  the  food  of  those 
who  come  a  distance  ;  and  bowls,  etc.,  from  which  they  may 
eat.  Hence  our  people,  when  stating  the  number  of  a  con- 
gregation, seldom  tell  the  number  of  heads,  but  follow  the 
native  fashion,  and  speak  of  the  number  of  tables  present, 
Chinese  tables  being  built  on  a  regulation  pattern,  and  all 
made  to  seat  eight. 

The  next  step  in  advance  was  to  stop  the  supply  of  lamp 


CHURCH  ORG  AMIS  A  TION  71 

oil.  At  first  it  was  necessary  to  help  the  infant  church  by 
providing  both  lamp  and  oil  for  every  new  station,  in  order 
that  the  evening  services  might  not  be  conducted  in  Stygian 
darkness.  In  those  days  a  foreign  lamp  was  rarely  seen  up 
country — such  an  article  was  counted  a  great  luxury ;  but 
the  people  are  now  following  our  example,  and  there  is  a 
growing  trade  in  lamps.  With  an  increasing  number  of 
stations,  however,  the  providing  of  lamp  oil  became  a  burden 
on  the  funds,  and  now  nearly  all  the  churches  provide  their 
own.  In  these  days,  when  a  number  of  inquirers,  or  members, 
think  the  time  has  come  to  have  a  church  in  their  own  village, 
we  generally  require  that  they  provide  all  the  material  them- 
selves, room,  furniture,  oil,  firing,  lamps — everything  except 
the  preachers'  expenses. 

A  further  step  in  advance  was  made  a  few  years  ago,  which 
we  have  good  reason  to  hope  will  also  ultimately  cover  the  item 
of  preachers'  salaries  and  expenses.  A  rule  was  made  that 
each  church  should  subscribe  a  minimum  of  two  dollars  a 
year  towards  circuit  expenses.  We  are  not  prepared  to 
name  the  happy  day  when  this  expectation  will  be  fully 
realised,  as  up  to  the  present  not  half  the  churches  have 
been  capable  of  even  living  up  to  so  moderate  a  regulation. 
It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  ten  years  ago  two-thirds  of 
these  churches  did  not  exist,  and  to  meet  the  initial  local 
provision  required  of  them  has  been  no  inconsiderable 
strain. 

Were  it  necessary  for  us  to  provide  each  village  church 
with  a  native  pastor,  even  granted  that  the  difficulty  of  finding 
men  could  be  overcome,  the  expense  would  be  far  beyond 
the  reach  of  our  grant  from  home.  Hence  our  hope  for 
self-support  lies  in  the  small  expense  involved  in  the  em- 
ployment of  lay  preachers.  These  have  an  allowance  for 
travelling  expenses  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  cents  (4d.)  a  Sunday, 
twenty-five  cents  if  away  a  night,  and  forty  if  away  two 
nights.  Appointments  to  stations  over  forty  li  (thirteen 
miles)  distant  from  their  homes  carry  an  additional  allowance 
of  ten  cents  for  ten  li.  The  distances  travelled  are  great, 
the  exposure  to  all  kinds  of  weather  serious  and  trying,  the 
necessity  for  decent  clothes  unavoidable,  and  the  extra 
claims  on  their  time  for  praying  with  the  sick,  and  for  wedding 


y2  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

and  funeral  services  not  inconsiderable  ;  so  that  the  average 
of  something  less  than  $2  a  month  earned  by  these  men  is 
not  even  a  coolie's  hire,  and  out  of  it  they  pay  their  own 
boat  fare,  and  find  their  own  food. 

A  last  and  most  important  step  in  advance  was  made  by 
our  Crystal  Lily  Circuit  last  spring.  This  circuit,  consisting 
of  twenty  churches,  resolved  to  raise  a  Circuit  Endowment 
Fund.  They  requested  us  to  maintain  our  present  circuit 
grant  for  five  years,  at  the  end  of  that  period  the  grant 
to  be  reduced  by  half,  and  at  the  expiry  of  ten  years  to 
cease  entirely  for  all  existing  work.  To  these  proposals 
we  yielded  a  delighted  acceptance.  Since  then  all  our  other 
circuits  have  promised  to  institute  a  similar  fund,  and 
already  we  have  over  $200  in  hand.  Even  should  there 
be  delay  in  the  realisation  of  this  programme,  it  is  the  most 
notable  step  forward  yet  made  by  our  people,  and  is  cause 
for  profound  gratitude  and  lively  hope. 

Several  of  our  local  preachers  are  entirely  self-supporting, 
and  a  few  days  ago  the  leader  of  a  small  church  came  in  to 
say  that  in  future  his  church  was  prepared  to  undertake  all 
its  own  local  preachers'  expenses,  paying  them  week  by  week. 
We  shall  make  much  of  this  at  our  coming  circuit  meetings, 
in  the  hope  of  stimulating  other  churches  to  follow  so  excellent 
an  example. 

As  to  Church  government,  seven  years  ago  the  time  seemed 
to  have  arrived  for  the  promulgation  of  some  definite  system, 
and  the  formal  association  with  us  of  suitable  officers.  The 
usual  Methodist  basis  of  church,  circuit,  and  district  was 
adopted,  and  Wenchow  having  been  formed  into  a  separate 
district  by  our  Annual  Assembly  in  England,  it  now  has  seven 
circuits,  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  churches.  Our  church 
officers,  apart  from  the  missionaries,  are  pastor,  assistant- 
pastor,  local  preacher,  and  leader.  When  the  time  comes  for 
the  formation  of  church  meetings  the  leaders  will  be  appointed 
thereat.  During  the  present  time  of  ignorance  they  are 
appointed  by  the  missionary,  in  consultation  with  the  circuit 
pastors  and  the  principal  members  of  the  churches.  At  the 
circuit  meetings  local  preachers  are  nominated,  and  candidates 
for  the  native  ministry  receive  their  recommendation,  but  the 
latter  are  appointed  by  the  Annual  District  Meeting.      Up 


CHURCH  ORGANISATION  7^ 

to  the  present  there  has  been  no  formal  ordination  or  public 
reception. 

Rather  than  import  the  fully  developed  machinery  of 
Church  government  to  which  our  home  churches  have 
through  a  long  period  become  gradually  accustomed,  we  deem 
it  better  to  advance  with  slower  steps  and  introduce  new 
rules  to  suit  new  needs.  An  elaborate  organisation  intro- 
duced before  its  time,  produces  misunderstandings,  heart- 
burnings, and  strife.  The  Church  of  China  will  ultimately 
evolve  its  own  machinery  of  government,  and  the  Chinese, 
being  democrats  by  nature,  and  ruling  their  own  clan  affairs 
with  ability,  will  find  no  difficulty  in  accepting,  and  success- 
fully working,  an  organisation  as  democratic  as  that  of  the 
most  liberal  of  the  Methodist  Churches. 

Our  circuit  meetings  are  often  foUov/ed  by  several  days  of 
Bible  study  for  the  benefit  of  the  local  preachers,  and  an 
occasional  ten  days'  training  in  the  city  for  the  ablest  of 
these  has  enabled  us  to  choose  the  men  best  qualified  for  re- 
commendation, through  the  circuit  meeting,  to  the  native 
ministry. 

One  other  item  of  value  in  connection  with  Church  extension 
in  its  earlier  stages  is  perhaps  worth  mention  before  closing 
this  chapter.  Many  years  ago,  when  our  country  work  was 
beginning  to  grow,  I  published  a  small  book  of  services,  which 
was  sold  at  the  rate  of  seventy  cash  a  copy  (2d.).  It  con- 
sisted of  seventy  of  our  simplest  hymns,  a  number  of  short 
prayers,  mostly  taken  from  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  a 
lesson  from  the  New  Testament  for  each  Sunday  of  the  year, 
an  order  of  service,  and  a  brief  catechism.  This  book  was 
carried  to  many  places  where  a  preacher  could  not  be  supplied, 
and  was  of  much  help  in  tiding  a  number  of  beginners  over  the 
critical  period  that  elapsed  until  we  were  able  to  supply  a 
man,  and  put  the  name  of  the  village  on  our  preachers'  plan. 
This  book  was  so  arranged  that  it  could  everywhere  be  used 
alongside  our  ordinary  hymn-book.  About  two  thousand 
were  printed  and  sold,  and  though  they  have  many  years  been 
out  of  print,  a  stray  copy  may  still  occasionally  be  met  with 
in  our  country  stations. 

What  has  been  done  in  the  way  of  Church  estabhshment, 
extension,  and  organisation  has  been  done  gradually.     It  ia 


74  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

the  growth  of  years  ;  nothing  has  been  forced.  Some  things 
have  been  planned,  and  a  general  ideal  kept  ever  before  the 
mind  ;  but  what  has  been  achieved  has  been  achieved  step  by 
step  with  what  patience  in  us  lay.  While  there  is  much  to  be 
thankful  for,  much  more  remains  to  be  done  than  has  been 
done  ;  the  musical  portion  of  our  services  calls  for  improve- 
ment, self-support  requires  persistent  fostering,  an  educated 
ministry  is  demanded,  women's  work  needs  development, 
and  more,  much  more  lies  in  our  hearts  that  we  should  like  to 
do,  were  we  not,  like  most  Mission  stations,  suffering  from 
chronic  insufficiency  of  staff  and  funds. 


PASTORAL   VISITATION 

"In  journeyings  often,  in  perils  in  weariness  and  painfulness ;  be- 
side those  things  that  are  without,  the  care  of  all  the  churches." 

Our  missionary  is  not  long  in  discovering,  and  not  with  un- 
mitigated joy,  that  his  people  are  great  believers  in  Pastoral 
Visitation,  by  which  of  course  is  meant — this  being  topsy- 
turvy land — visitation  of,  and  not  by,  the  pastor.  Let  not 
the  minister  at  home  be  envious,  for  less  offence  may  be  given 
by  paying  a  short  visit  than  by  turning  out  a  long  visitor. 
Moreover,  the  Chinese  are  an  early-rising  nation,  and  hesitate 
not  at  early  calls.  Not  a  few  are  the  British  mandarins  who 
have  bowed  to  the  inevitable,  and  interviewed  their  Chinese 
fellows  unbathed  and  breakfastless.  Even  the  Emperor  is 
expected  to  receive  his  Ministers  of  State  at  four  in  the  morn- 
ing, which  brings  to  mind  the  mediaeval  custom  of  Europe, 
when  the  king — and  queen  too,  for  the  matter  of  that — 
received  their  ministers  in  bed. 

Even  so,  the  pastor  in  China  discovers  that  his  flock  is 
prepared  to  call  quite  early,  indeed  is  equally  willing,  if  but 
slightly  encouraged,  to  see  him  before  he  gets  up  or  is  dressed. 
Such  an  experience  I  have  had  more  than  once,  without  being 
put  to  the  trouble  of  encouraging  it.  For  instance,  some 
years  ago,  a  young  Christian,  bent  on  pastoral  visitation,  one 
fine  morning  found  his  way  around  the  verandah,  and,  poking 
his  head  into  my  bath-room  window,  calmly  remarked  with 
never  a  blush,  "  The  pastor  is  having  a  bath,"  nor  did  he 
hurry  away.  On  another  occasion,  on  the  first  of  January 
1896,  though  with  greater  justification,  and  even  to  my  un- 
dressed gratification,  a  line  Christian  man — referred  to  later 
in  this  chapter — who  had  suffered  long  imprisonment  for 
Christ's  sake  and  just  been  released,  found  his  way  very  early 

75 


ye  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

in  the  morning  to  my  bedroom,  and  flung  himself  at  my  bed- 
side weeping  glad  tears — nor  was  I  long  in  joining  him  there. 

There  is,  of  course,  another  form  of  visitation,  in  which  our 
missionary  himself  is  the  guest,  for  his  country  churches  must 
be  supervised  with  stringent  regularit)',  and  as  frequently  as 
possible,  if  he  wishes  to  see  them  grow  strong  and  healthy. 
Again,  may  we  add,  let  not  the  home  pastor  be  envious.  Long 
journeys,  all  sorts  of  weather,  every  kind  of  room  and  bed 
except  the  clean  and  comfortable,  added  to  which  are  the 
inquisitive,  staring,  unwashed,  uncurried  crowds  !  Easy  is 
it  for  a  China  missionary  to  understand  our  Lord's  yearning 
for  "  the  desert  place  "  and  the  "  mountain."  Nevertheless 
the  law  of  compensations  is  always  at  work,  and  variety 
lends  spice  even  to  country  itineration. 

By  way  of  example,  last  Saturday  Mr  Sharman  and  I  set  off 
for  Outer  Sichi,  and  after  travelling  several  hours,  and  spending 
the  night  in  the  boat,  each  of  us  preached  three  times  in  two 
different  villages  three  miles  apart,  examined  and  baptised 
candidates,  administered  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  discussed 
matters  of  more  or  less  importance  with  several  parties.  On 
the  Monday  we  held  our  half-yearly  circuit  meeting,  and  had 
an  excellent  time  with  the  preachers  and  leaders.  It  was  on 
the  Sunday,  however,  that  we  met  with  an  item  of  interest 
which  caused  no  little  excitement  in  the  village  first  visited. 

The  high-road  from  the  landing-place  to  our  destination  led 
over  a  hLU.  Mr  Sharman's  destination  being  farther  in  than 
mine,  I  started  later,  and,  on  reaching  the  top  of  the  hill, 
found  a  number  of  people  gathered  around  a  large  flag,  which 
hung  limp  in  the  rain  from  the  top  of  a  bamboo  pole.  An 
old  grey-bearded  gentleman  who  hails  from  a  village  ten 
miles  inland,  and  whom  I  have  known  for  many  years,  came 
forward  to  tell  me  that  this  was  a  flag  of  rebellion,  ostensibly 
set  up  by  the  "  Red  Lamp  Society."  Not  one  of  the  people 
about  cared  to  remove  the  flag,  lest,  on  the  one  hand,  he  should 
incur  the  hatred  of  the  Red  Lamp  Society,  or,  on  the  other, 
being  caught  with  the  flag  in  his  possession,  he  should  be  im- 
prisoned and  possibly  executed  as  a  traitor. 

Knowing,  as  I  did,  that  the  Red  Lamp  Society  was  powerless, 
save  to  cause  unrest  throughout  this  district,  during  the 
course  of  which  our  Christians  would  be  the  chief  sufferers ; 


PASTORAL   VISITATION  77 

guessing  also  that  the  flag  had  been  raised  at  this  particular 
place  in  order  to  embroil  the  friendly  village  to  which  we  were 
wending  our  way  in  difficulty  with  the  authorities  ;  and, 
finally,  having  no  fear  of  being  executed  as  a  traitor,  I  deemed 
it  a  duty — after  considerable  hesitation — to  annex  the  flag, 
and  hand  it  over  to  the  village  beadle  for  conveyance  to  the 
city  magistrate.  The  more  technically  correct  plan  would 
have  been  to  send  the  beadle  in  person  to  remove  the  flag,  but 
the  Chinese  constable  has  one  feature  in  common  with  his 
English  cousin — shall  we  say  of  the  past  generation  ? — he  is 
often  where  he  is  not  wanted,  and  seldom  where  he  is  ;  more- 
over, the  longer  the  flag  remained,  the  greater  the  cause  of 
unrest.  It  had  been  put  up  during  the  night,  and  as  the  day 
was  still  young,  not  many  people  had  seen  it,  but  very  soon 
hundreds  of  villagers  (some  whose  homes  were  more  than  a 
hundred  miles  inland)  would  be  hurrying  along  to  catch  the 
tide  to  Wenchow ;  so,  waiving  formality,  I  resolved  that  the 
loyal  Chinese  breeze  just  springing  up  should  not  be  allowed 
to  pollute  itself  and  spread  the  seeds  of  discord  by  waving 
this  emblem  of  woe  in  the  air.  The  flag  was  speedily  in  the 
beadle's  hands,  and  he  made  his  way  with  it  to  the  city. 

It  is  not,  however,  either  of  the  Sunday  or  the  Monday 
that  I  would  write,  but  of  A  Day's  Visitation  on  returning 
to  the  City 

First  of  all,  then,  our  good  doctor  has  decided  to  hold  a 
general  morning  service  for  all  in-patients  in  the  Dispensary 
chapel,  instead  of  the  scattered  services  hitherto  held  in  the 
wards,  and  somebody  is  required  to  take  the  service.  So,  at 
nine  o'clock,  we  go  in  together,  and  find  the  halt,  the  lame,  the 
maimed,  and  the  blind  awaiting  us.  "  The  Son  of  Man  came 
to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost  "  is  the  text  at  the 
head  of  the  hymn-sheet  handed  around,  and  the  audience 
listens  attentively  as  the  meaning  is  explained  to  them. 

A  young  Christian  is  awaiting  the  conclusion  of  the  brief 
service  for  an  interview  with  the  doctor.  I  had  seen  him  on 
the  preceding  Sunday,  and  pitied  his  distress.  His  parents 
are  both  Christians,  and,  when  his  mother  led  him  to  me,  it 
was  painful  to  listen  to  the  poor  young  fellow's  sobs  as  he 
showed  us  his  well-nigh  sightless  orbs.  Contagious  ophthalmia, 
so  common  and  virulent  in  a  country  where  morals  are  as  low 
£ 


78  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

as  in  this  land,  had  left  him  with  iritis,  and  one  native  doctor 
after  another  had  been  allowed  to  practise  on  him  until  his 
sight  was  ruined.  Now,  at  my  advice,  two  young  Christians 
have  brought  him  to  see  if  Dr  Plummer  can  restore  to  him 
even  a  glimmer  of  precious  sight.  Alas  !  little  hope  can  be 
given,  but  he  is  received  into  the  hospital  for  attention. 
(After  prolonged  rest  and  care,  Dr  Plummer  succeeded  in 
skilfully  opening  a  false  pupil  for  him,  so  that  he  can  now 
see  to  go  about.)  Blindness  is  bad  enough  in  England,  but 
"  the  love  of  Christ  "  has  mitigated  its  horrors  ;  in  China  there 
are  no  mitigations.  China's  greatest  need  is  this  same  con- 
straining "  love  of  Christ." 

Back  home  again  to  find  no  chance  for  study.  There  are 
people  waiting,  half  a  score  or  more ;  but  before  they  can  be 
seen  Chinese  correspondence  must  receive  attention.  Here 
are  a  number  of  letters  in  Chinese  to  be  read,  and  there  sits 
the  Chinese  assistant  awaiting  instructions  for  replies,  which 
he  will  have  to  compose  and  submit  for  revision  before  he  can 
make  a  fair  copy.  These  have  been  dealt  with ;  "  pastoral 
visitation  "  begins,  and  the  first  visitor  is  invited  into  the 
room. 

He  is  a  preacher  in  charge  of  a  new  station  ten  miles  to  the 
south.  His  looks  are  most  woebegone,  very  different  from 
those  of  the  bright,  lively  Mr  Yeh  of  yore.  We  know  what  is 
the  matter  and  are  deeply  sorry  for  him.  He  has  never  heard 
of  the  immortal  Don  Quixote — a  book  which  every  missionary 
ought  to  read — but  in  his  ardent  desire  to  do  good,  he,  like 
the  immortal  one,  has  fallen  upon  trouble.  As  his  case  throws 
light  on  a  seamy  side  of  Chinese  life,  it  may  be  instructive  to 
the  reader  if  we  explain  it. 

When  Mr  Yeh  went  to  Ji-fung  last  year  and  opened  our 
new  station  there,  he  soon  found  that  his  next  door  neighbour 
was  a  most  undesirable  personage.  He  was  a  burglar,  a 
most  notorious  burglar,  against  whom  scores  of  charges  had 
been  laid  in  the  yamen,  but  who,  up  to  the  present,  had 
always  successfully  avoided  arrest.  Mr  Yeh  was  much 
troubled  concerning  this  man,  who,  at  the  outset,  showed 
himself  anything  but  well  disposed  towards  his  new  neighbour. 
Yeh  came  to  me  at  the  time,  expressing  an  anxiety  that  was 
manifestly  real.     What  was  he  to  do  ?     "  Pray  for  him,"  I 


PASTORAL   VISITATION  79 

had  said ;  "  God  has  changed  the  hearts  of  worse  men  than 
this.  Pray  for  him."  He  had  shaken  his  head  doubtfully, 
seeming  to  think  the  burglar  past  praying  for.  A  few  months 
later,  on  my  return  from  a  brief  visit  to  England,  he  came 
again  to  see  me,  smiling  all  over  his  face,  and  bringing  with 
him  a  variety  of  burglars'  tools  of  a  distinctly  unprepossessing 
appearance. 

"  The  pastor  remembers  telhng  me  to  pray  for  my  neigh- 
bour, the  burglar  ?  "  he  inquired.  "  Well,  he  has  decided 
to  turn  over  a  new  leaf,  and  has  handed  me  over  his  tools." 

Then  he  began  to  tell  me  the  circumstances,  and  here  is  the 

STORY  OF  A  BURGLAR. 

Liu  Jung  Mu  was  a  canal  boatman  ten  years  ago,  of 
respectable  character,  as  respectability  goes  in  China.  One 
day  a  man  with  whom  he  was  acquainted  brought  a  load  of  tea, 
asking  that  he  would  take  it  in  his  boat  to  the  city  of  Jui-an, 
and  sell  it  for  him.  According  to  Liu's  story,  he  took  it  in  all 
good  faith,  sold  it  openly,  and  handed  the  proceeds  to  the  man 
who  employed  him.  What  was  his  astonishment,  a  few  days 
afterwards,  to  be  arrested  by  the  thief-catchers  and  charged 
with  robbery.  Knowing  how  difficiilt  it  would  be  to  clear 
himself,  he  adopted  the  not  unusual  course  of  bribing  the 
detectives.  Herein  lay  his  great  mistake,  for,  having  once 
bribed  them,  they  came  again  and  again,  and  the  blackmail 
had  to  be  maintained. 

His  next  step  downwards  was  actually  to  rob  somebody,  in 
order  to  satisfy  the  persistent  claims  of  his  persecutors,  who 
threatened  to  arrest  him,  and  not  only  lay  the  original  charge 
at  his  door,  but  many  more  of  which  he  was  as  guiltless  as  of 
that.  These  vultures  must  be  fed,  so,  becoming  bolder,  he 
took  to  housebreaking.  At  first  he  only  did  so  on  a  small 
scale,  but  as  time  passed  the  monthly  demands  of  the  thief- 
catchers  became  so  heavy,  and,  as  is  usual  in  China,  the 
thief  and  his  catchers  became  such  good  friends  that  his 
boldness  grew,  and  soon  his  notoriety  spread  afar. 

Many  were  the  plaints  now  laid  against  him  in  the  yamens, 
many  the  warrants  for  his  arrest,  and  much  the  pressure  put 
upon  the  thief-catchers  to  secure  him;  but  is  it  reasonable  that 


8o  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

any  man,  much  less  a  thief-catcher,  should  wilfuUy  overturn 
his  own  rice-bowl  ?  With  a  sum  varying  from  fifteen  to  forty 
dollars  a  month  to  divide  amongst  themselves,  would  it  not  be 
rank  folly  to  kill  a  goose  that  regularly  laid  such  golden  eggs  ? 

So  "  Lao  Liu,"  which  may  be  translated  "  Good  old  Lew," 
remained  "  Lao  Liu "  to  his  friends  the  enemy,  and  his 
burglaries  increased  in  number  and  importance.  Thief  and 
thief-takers  had  many  a  good  time  together,  but  the  pressure 
of  .the  unfortunate  people,  who  resented  the  late  hours  kept  by 
Liu,  and  the  consequent  emptiness  of  their  cupboards  and 
boxes,  was  sometimes  strong  enough  to  compel  him  to  disgorge 
his  takings.  Not  that  he  did  so  for  nothing  ;  for  he  generally 
received  redemption  money  sufficient  to  recompense  him  for 
his  arduous  toil. 

He  was  always  on  good  terms  with  his  fellow-villagers,  as 
he  took  care  to  cultivate  the  virtue  of  honesty  with  them.  In 
fact,  his  honesty  went  to  the  extent  of  an  occasional  present  to 
one  here  and  another  there,  in  consequence  of  which  he 
became  known  amongst  them  as  a  very  good  fellow.  This 
was  also  an  additional  protection  in  case  of  trouble.  Like 
the  unjust  steward,  he  thereby  prepared  more  homes  for 
himself  when  his  own  was  undergoing  an  unwonted  spring 
clean — as  it  occasionally  did — at  the  hands  of  a  police 
whose  character  was  more  debased  than  his  own.  Through 
all  the  years  of  his  hfe  of  robbery  he  was  never  ar- 
rested, nor  even  seen  by  those  whom  he  robbed,  and 
people  came  to  speak  of  him  as  possessing  wings  and  being 
able  to  fly. 

Such,  then,  was  Mr  Yeh's  neighbour,  and  such  was  the  man 
for  whom  he  had  prayed.  Liu  had  never  loved  the  life,  and 
for  long  had  desired  to  quit  it.  Unless,  however,  he  could 
raise  some  five  hundred  dollars  to  fee  the  yamen  harpies, 
square  the  detectives,  and  give  several  theatrical  displays,  he 
could  not  obtain  that  which,  in  theory,  is  free  and  open  to  any 
Chinese  robber  who  unfeignedly  repents,  namely,  official 
pardon,  Hberating  him  from  the  consequences  of  his  past 
misconduct. 

Liu  was  never  able  to  make  so  large  a  sum  as  this,  for,  if  he 
lifted  a  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  goods,  the  outcry  became 
too  serious  to  withstand,  and  the  stolen  goods  had  to  be 


PASTORAL   VISITATION  8i 

returned,  to  save  his  own  and  the  thief-catchers'  skins.  For 
"  skin  for  skin,"  even  a  Chinese  thief  will  give  up  his  stolen 
goods  to  avoid  the  bastinado,  and,  should  he  hesitate,  his 
colleague  the  thief-catcher,  to  avoid  a  vicarious  application 
of  the  yamen  bamboo,  wiU  speedily  find  means  of  making 
him  disgorge.  Also,  when  Liu  did  succeed  in  keeping  his 
haul,  he  was  never  able  to  obtain  anything  like  its  real 
value,  for  stolen  goods  sell  at  less  than  a  quarter  their 
worth,  as  any  of  my  readers  who  have  indulged  in  burglary 
must  know  from  their  own  experience.  In  addition,  he 
generally  had  to  pay  liberally  the  man  who  told  him  of 
a  likely  job,  led  him  to  it,  and  helped  in  carrying  off  the 
booty  ;  and,  then — this  perpetual  monthly  allowance  to  the 
detectives !  Really,  how  is  it  possible  for  an  unfortunate  burglar 
to  raise  the  amount  necessary  for  his  emancipation  ?  It  is  all 
he  can  do  to  keep  a  roof  over  his  head.     What  a  hard  life  it  is  ! 

Liu  is  the  exact  opposite  of  the  viUainous-looking  scoundrel 
one  usually  associates  with  the  profession  ;  he  is  quiet,  un- 
assuming, and  kindly  disposed.  When  he  came  to  the  city  to 
a  Christian  service  for  the  first  time,  I  was  told  before  entering 
the  pulpit  that  the  ex-burglar  was  seated  in  the  front  bench. 
My  eye  roved  over  it ;  several  strange  faces  were  there,  and 
I  promptly  discovered  the  burglar  in  a  furtive-eyed  man 
sitting  in  the  middle.  On  descending  from  the  pulpit,  Mr 
Yeh  approached  me  and  said  Liu  was  there.  "  Yes,  I  saw 
him,"  was  my  unhesitating  reply.  "  Here  he  is,"  he  pre- 
sently added,  but  instead  of  the  furtive-eyed  man,  a  taU,  well- 
built,  quiet-looking  country  farmer  looked  out  at  me  from  a 
pair  of  ordinary  eyes,  that  certainly  suggested  nothing  of  the 
thief  and  robber.  There  appeared  no  pressing  necessity  to 
display  my  error.  He  bowed  gravely  and  respectfully,  and 
begged  me  to  help  him  make  a  fresh  start  in  hfe.  He  was 
willing,  said  he,  to  do  anything  in  order  to  be  free  from 
demands  which  drove  him  either  to  robbery  or  prison. 

Knowing  the  horrors  and  hopelessness  of  a  Chinese  prison, 
it  was  difficult  to  advise  him  to  surrender  himself  to  that,  as 
it  was  equally  difficult  to  promise  him  any  assistance  in  the 
matter,  for  we  had  no  evidence  of  his  sincerity  save  that  of 
Mr  Yeh,  whose  kind  heart  might  have  led  him  cistray.  Certain 
it  was  that  Yeh  had  fallen  in  love  with  Liu,  and  was  prepared 


82  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

to  stake  his  reputation  on  the  man's  sincerity.  The 
Christians,  however,  were  divided  into  two  camps,  neither  of 
which  knew  the  man  save  by  repute.  One  camp  objected  to 
so  notorious  a  character  being  welcomed  till  he  had  proved  his 
change  of  life  ;  the  other  rejoiced,  though  "  with  fear  and 
trembling,"  over  his  conversion.  Hence,  as  with  St  Paiil  at 
Damascus,  so  here — and  maybe  it  is  for  the  Church's  safety 
that  such  should  be  the  case — there  were  few  who  were  pre- 
pared to  give  him  a  warm,  whole-hearted  welcome. 

When  Yeh  first  came  on  Liu's  behalf,  he  brought  bonds  from 
some  of  the  elders  of  Liu's  clan,  holding  themselves  surety  for 
his  future  good  behaviour.  Yeh  was  very  desirous  these 
bonds  should  be  sent  to  the  magistrate,  with  a  request  that 
mercy  be  shown  towards  the  late  burglar.  Though  on 
friendly  terms  with  the  magistrate,  I  could  not  see  my  way  to 
any  such  precipitate  action.  The  man  must  prove  his 
sincerity  by  a  longer  probation.  "  Yes,"  said  Yeh,  "  but  how 
is  he  to  avoid  arrest  ?  The  '  swift  horses  '  (detectives)  are 
now  his  sworn  foes,  as  he  no  longer  has  any  funds  out  of  which 
to  pay  their  demands."  I  was  sorry,  but  still  could  not  see 
any  immediate  way  to  help  him.  He  must  hide  when  the 
detectives  sought  him,  or,  better  still,  give  himself  up  and 
trust  in  God. 

Five  months  have  passed  since  he  began  to  attend  services. 
At  first  he  came,  not  so  much  out  of  love  for  Christianity, 
as  to  seek  a  way  of  escape  from  his  apparent  fate  ;  now  he 
seems  to  have  become  influenced  by  the  gospel  itself.  He  has 
also,  with  much  difficulty,  succeeded  in  evading  arrest,  but 
at  last  the  "  swift  as  horses "  are  again  on  his  track, 
and  this  time  they  mean  business.  Yeh  sees  no  other 
way  than  to  bring  Liu  and  the  bondsmen  to  plead  in 
person  with  me.  Liu  comes,  and  goes — straight  from 
my  house  into  the  arms  of  his  quondam  friends,  who 
have  been  on  the  watch  for  him.  No  longer  is  he  "  Good 
old  Lew,"  but  thief,  robber,  scoundrel,  everything  vile. 
And  now  he  is  in  prison,  and  poor  Yeh  has  cried  his  eyes 
hollow  with  grief. 

Unable  to  refrain  any  longer,  I  have  sent  to  the  magistrate 
the  bonds  signed  by  the  elders,  together  with  a  plain  state- 
ment of  the  attempt  Liu  has  made  at  reform,  and  left  the 


:^ 


PASTORAL    VISITATION  83 

case  to  the  magistrate's  mercy.  He  has  returned  a  kind 
reply,  promising  that  if  it  is  discovered  that  Liu  has 
done  nothing  illegal  during  the  last  five  months,  a  way 
shall  be  found  to  release  him.  Yeh  knows  that  Liu 
has  been  straight  all  these  months,  for  they  have  lived 
all  the  time  under  the  same  roof.  A  fortnight  has 
passed,  rumours  are  abroad  of  the  prisoner's  sufferings, 
but  Yeh  has  failed  to  obtain  an  interview  with  him ; 
and  if  the  fortnight  has  told  as  badly  on  the  prisoner 
as  it  has  on  Yeh,  he  must  be  in  a  decidedly  bad  way.  Yeh 
knows  the  secret  tortures  that  prisoners  have  often  to  undergo 
at  the  hands  of  prison  warders — hanging  up  by  the  thumbs 
and  tail  for  a  whole  night  ;  stretching  arms  and  legs  to  their 
full  extent,  and  binding  them  thus  for  hours  till  the  sufferer 
faints  with  the  misery ;  starvation,  beating,  and  other 
forms  of  unofficial  torture,  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  the 
prisoner  either  to  pay  over  money,  or  confess  to  crimes  which 
he  has  probably  never  committed.  So  we  spend  an  hour 
in  sjmipathising  with  Mr  Yeh,  in  pointing  out  the  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  further  aid,  and  in  bracing  him  up.  At  last 
he  goes  out,  still  sadly  woebegone,  but,  we  trust,  more  hopeful. 
Now  comes  in  our  old  friend  Ding  Nger.  We  have  not 
seen  him  for  a  long  time.  He  too  knows  what  the  terrors 
of  a  Chinese  prison  are,  for  did  he  not  endure  them,  for  Christ's 
sake,  rejoicing  to  sufier  the  loss  of  all  things,  willing  even 
to  lose  life  itself,  rather  than  sign  a  document  not  to  hold 
Christian  services  again  in  his  native  village  ?  And  what 
does  Ding  Nger  want  ? 

THE    STORY    OF    A    GAMBLER. 

He  has  come  about  an  old  man  of  seventy,  whose  son  has 
been  a  Christian  for  several  years,  and  who  himself  began 
to  attend  our  services  at  Fung  Ling  last  year.  The  old 
man  is  in  prison — another  prison  case  !  What  is  the  cause 
of  his  imprisonment  ?  Ostensibly,  gambling  and  lottery 
keeping ;  in  reality,  to  bring  about  the  settlement  of  a  lawsuit 
in  regard  to  a  hill  in  which  he  happens  to  be  part  owner 
with  a  clear  title. 

Gambling  and  lotteries  are  illegal  in  China,  hence  both 


84  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

are  exceedingly  common.  The  Chinese  gamble  with  dominoes 
dice,  cards,  bamboo  tallies,  cash,  crickets,  quail — everything, 
and  at  the  New  Year,  when  the  nominal  restrictions  are 
suspended  for  ten  days,  almost  every  house  seems  to  have 
its  gaming-table.  Much  of  the  gambling  at  that  time  is 
comparatively  harmless,  but,  generally  speaking,  it  is  a 
source  of  untold  misery  to  great  numbers  of  families  in  this 
country. 

As  to  lotteries,  although  proclamations  forbidding  them 
are  found  everywhere,  they  are  almost  as  ubiquitous  as 
the  proclamations.  They  are  usually  connected  with  a 
temple,  and  men  travel  long  distances  to  worship  at  the 
shrine  of  its  deity,  to  implore  that  they  may  draw  the 
winning  number.  Some  indeed  worship  at  many  other 
shrines,  in  addition  to  the  one  connected  with  the  par- 
ticular temple  where  the  lottery  is  held.  Many  make  a 
profession  of  running  lotteries. 

So,  many  years  ago,  our  old  septuagenarian  was  a  gambler 
and  ran  lotteries.  He  had  the  misfortune  to  become 
notorious,  and  actually  to  have  a  warrant  out  for  his  arrest. 
But  for  quite  a  long  period,  though  the  name  of  gambler 
has  stuck  to  him,  he  has  ceased  to  take  any  prominent  part 
in  the  gambling  transactions  of  his  neighbourhood,  and  for 
a  number  of  years  has  been  entirely  free  from  the  vice.  Not 
that  old  age  always  reforms  a  gambler.  I  once  had  a  long 
talk  with  an  old  scallywag  of  seventy,  who  boasted  to  me 
that  he  had  been  gambling  for  more  than  fifty  years,  and 
that  it  was  the  finest  life  a  man  could  live  !  On  the  other 
hand,  a  youth  once  came,  exposing  the  stump  of  his  little 
finger,  asking  if  I  could  give  him  some  medicine  to  ease  the 
pain.  "  What  has  happened  to  it  ?  "  I  asked.  "  I  have 
been  unable  to  cut  off  gambling,"  he  answered ;  "  my  money 
has  gone,  my  clothes  have  gone,  and  my  father  is  exceedingly 
angry,  so  I  have  taken  a  vow  never  to  gamble  again,  and 
to  register  the  vow  have  chopped  off  my  little  finger." 

Old  age  and  the  example  of  his  Christian  son  have  told  on 
our  Fung  Ling  friend.  For  years  he  has  seen  the  error  of 
his  ways,  and  now  has  commenced  to  prepare  for  the  great 
change  which  awaits  an  old  man's  lagging  footsteps.  It 
is  hard  at  his  time  of  life,  and  after  beginning  to  turn  over 


PASTORAL   VISITATION  85 

a  very  soiled  leaf  for  a  cleaner  page,  that  the  sins  of 
years  ago  should  lay  him  by  the  heels  in  the  darkness 
and  misery  of  a  Chinese  prison.  There  is  neither  Habeas 
Corpus  Act  nor  Statute  of  Limitations  in  China,  So,  although 
the  old  warrant  is  hard  to  find,  it  is  easy  to  do  without  one 
altogether ;  and,  now  that  the  old  man  has  come  to  court 
to  ask  for  the  recognition  of  his  rights,  the  simplest  plan 
for  the  well-to-do  opponent  is  to  persuade  a  friend,  who  has 
the  ear  of  the  magistrate,  to  put  a  false  view  of  the  matter 
before  his  Worship.  And  his  Worship  may  as  well  save 
himself  trouble  by  locking  up  the  old  man  on  another  charge, 
which  will  probably  induce  him  not  to  trouble  the  court 
further  about  his  rights,  for  there  are  more  ways  of  setthng 
a  claim  than  by  granting  it. 

Both  father  and  son  have  been  squeezed  "  as  dry  as  a 
chip,"  as  Ding  Nger  puts  it.  Can  I  help  in  rescuing  the  old 
man  ?  He  is  too  infirm  to  bear  the  misery  and  sufferings  of 
the  prison.  I  am  sorry,  but  cannot  render  any  immediate 
assistance  in  the  matter,  can  only  advise  him  to  give  up 
his  rights,  and  point  out  that  the  teaching  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  that,  if  a  man  wants  his  inner  garment,  it  is  well  to  let  him 
have  the  outer  also,  rather  than  quarrel  and  go  to  law  about  it. 
Finally,  Ding  Nger  arranges  to  put  the  whole  case  into  the  form 
of  a  written  petition  for  my  enlightenment,  in  the  hope  that 
a  favourable  opportunity  will  arise  for  rendering  assistance 
— not  that  such  a  thing  is  likely.  Ding  Nger  has  come  at  his 
own  expense  forty  miles  by  water,  and  been  waiting  two 
days  till  my  return  from  up-country.  It  is  hard  to  see  him 
go  away  unrelieved,  but  there  is  no  justification  for  asking 
favours  in  this  affair. 

My  next  visitor  is  Mr  Dzang,  the  pastor  of  the  western 
half  of  the  Yotsing  Circuit.  Six  years  ago  he  was  an  opium 
smoker  and  knew  nothing  of  Christianity ;  now  he  is  one 
of  our  most  reliable  pastors,  and  a  good  preacher.  It  is  a 
pleasure  to  see  him  ;  though,  by  the  way  he  glances  at  the  long 
slip  of  paper  he  holds  in  his  hand,  his  interview  seems  destined 
to  last  till  tiffin.  There  are  financial  details  to  discuss,  items 
also  in  regard  to  the  excellent  school  we  have  there,  a  hst 
of  a  score  or  more  applicants  for  baptism  to  talk  over,  new 
openings  to  decide  upon,  and  the  need  of  a  new  chapel  for 


86  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

Yotsing  City  to  consider.  We  have  not  funds  for  the  last 
item,  and  the  only  thing  to  do  is  to  find  a  house  larger  than 
the  "  pokey  "  little  place  we  now  occupy  ;  but  house-hunting 
is  even  more  difficult  in  China  than  in  England,  for  people 
are  many  and  houses  all  occupied.  Mr  Dzang  also  gives 
me  particulars  of  the  misbehaviour  of  one  of  his  flock,  whose 
chief,  a  salt-tax  official,  has  written  a  letter  informing  me 
of  the  man's  dismissal  and  the  reason  therefor.  This  requires 
a  letter  of  acknowledgment  and  approval,  for  the  official 
has  shown  considerable  courtesy  in  thus  writing.  The 
incident  also  involves  discussion  as  to  how  the  transgressor 
is  to  be  dealt  with  by  the  Church.  At  last  Mr  Dzang  has 
finished  his  list  and  departs. 

Next  comes  in  a  nice  little  woman  from  the  West  Gate.  She 
is  in  much  trouble,  for  her  husband,  who  is  not  a  sweet- 
tempered  man,  has  at  her  request  put  most  of  their  own 
capital,  as  well  as  some  that  they  have  borrowed,  into  pur- 
chasing tea.  They  shipped  $700  worth  by  j  unk  to  Foochow  for 
sale,  but,  alas  !  the  junk,  before  so  much  as  getting  out  of  the 
river,  ran  on  to  a  sandbank,  in  fine  clear  daylight,  with  never  a 
wave  on  the  water  or  a  breeze  in  the  air,  and  now  lies  with  a 
broken  back  near  the  river's  mouth.  Its  owner  contrived  to 
unload  all  his  own  things,  but  put  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
salving  the  tea,  and  most  of  it  has  been  carried  off  by  the  tide. 
What  is  to  be  done  ?  Can  we  offer  any  advice  or  assistance  ? 
We  can  offer  nothing  but  advice,  and  that  is  to  find  a  couple  of 
reliable  men  to  interview  the  owner,  who  is  said  to  be  a  landed 
proprietor,  and  endeavour  to  induce  him  to  make  some  com- 
pensation, according  to  custom,  especially  seeing  that  the 
wreck  resulted  from  the  gross  neglect  and  carelessness  of  his 
men.  Poor  woman,  we  are  doubly  sorry  to  be  unable  to  offer 
anything  but  advice,  as  it  is  our  unfortunate  duty  to  be  driven 
to  expel  her  son  from  our  College  this  week,  for  conduct  which, 
in  the  interests  of  that  institution,  cannot  be  condoned. 

Then  come  two  men,  a  good  old  man,  who  founded  one  of 
our  village  churches,  accompanied  by  a  deaf  friend,  who  has 
been  a  quiet,  faithful  Christian  for  many  years.  The  latter 
is  suffering  oppression  at  the  hands  of  another  and  more 
powerful  man,  also  a  "  Christian,"  but  whom  we  have  had  to 
severely  rebuke  more  than  once  for  un-Christian  conduct.  We 


PASTORAL    VISITATION  Sy 

listen  to,  and  try  to  understand  the  details  of  the  story,  and 
promise  to  send  a  deputation  to  the  unjust  brother,  expostu- 
late with  him,  induce  him  to  cease  his  vexatious  conduct,  and 
come  to  a  settlement  in  the  matters  in  dispute. 

Now  two  widows,  and  two  or  three  elderly  men,  are  intro- 
duced to  tell  a  tale  of  woe.  A  lawsuit  about  a  piece  of  hillside 
was  settled  some  years  ago,  in  which  these  people  were  ad- 
judged its  owners.  A  few  weeks  since  one  of  the  principal 
opponents,  an  opium  smoker,  took  a  couple  of  men  on  to  the 
hill  and  sold  to  them  the  timber  standing  thereon,  whereupon 
they  at  once  began  to  cut  it  down.  The  sons  of  the  rightful 
owners  hearing  thereof,  naturally  interfered,  and  the  aggres- 
sors were  sent  about  their  business.  The  opium  smoker,  who 
was  already  as  thin  as  "  a  bamboo  slip,"  evidently  suffering 
from  advanced  consumption,  died  within  a  fortnight.  Though 
he  had  laid  no  complaint  about  being  struck,  and  had  been 
going  round  as  usual,  his  friends  could  not  dream  of  allowing 
such  a  good  opportunity  to  pass  for  a  row  and  a  big  squeeze. 
They,  accordingly,  invited  his  own  and  his  wife's  clansmen,  and 
went  in  an  armed  band  to  the  homes  of  the  parties  now 
present,  demolishing  them  in  revenge  for  the  "  murder,"  as 
they  chose  to  style  it. 

Of  course  the  usual  lawsuit  follows,  as  the  other  side  have 
put  in  a  capital  charge  against  these  Christians.  We  know 
their  innocence,  and  deeply  sympathise,  but  it  is  purely  and 
simply  a  Chinese  affair,  not  in  any  way  arising  from  the  parties 
now  present  being  Christians.  We  can  only  condole  with  the 
sufferers,  and  advise  an  attempt  at  compromise.  We  point 
out  that  though  they  will  certainly  in  the  long  run  be  able  to 
clear  themselves  in  court,  yet  it  costs  much  money  to  reach 
the  presence  of  his  Worship.  Moreover,  he  will  probably, 
to  save  the  other  people's  face,  find  it  convenient  to  tempo- 
rarily put  one  of  the  Christians'  sons  in  prison,  pending  the 
squaring  of  the  case,  and  that  will  mean  heavy  payments  to 
the  jailers  for  keeping  him,  and  more  still  for  letting  him  go. 
Agree  with  thine  adversary  quickly,  whiles  thou  art  in  the 
way  with  him ;  lest  the  adversary  deliver  thee  to  the 
judge,  and  the  judge  deliver  thee  to  the  officer,  and 
thou  be  cast  into  prison  ;  verily  I  say  unto  thee,  thou  shalt 
by  no  means   come   out    thence,   till  thou   hast  paid   the 


88  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

uttermost  farthing.  If  any  man  sue  thee  at  law  to  take  away 
thy  coat,  let  him  have  thy  cloak  also.  Excellent  advice  for 
the  Chinese,  and  for  some  Englishmen  also.  My  visitors  are 
simple-minded  people,  willing  to  do  anything  for  peace.  In 
addition  to  the  destruction  of  their  houses,  and  a  heavy  sum 
paid  for  ransom  at  the  time,  they  are  now  willing  to  pay  even 
as  much  as  $200  more  rather  than  go  into  court,  into  which, 
indeed,  not  one  of  them  has  ever  been  in  his  or  her  lifetime  ;  so 
we  consent  to  ask  two  of  our  people  to  endeavour  to  settle  the 
matter  out  of  court.  Alas  !  justice  is  hard  to  obtain  in  a 
country  like  this,  where  the  judge  is  supposed  to  fiU  offices, 
the  duties  of  which,  were  they  ever  performed,  would  tax  the 
energies  of  a  dozen  men. 

There  were  still  more  visitors  to  follow,  but  the  reader  has 
had  enough.  Not  aU  days  are  like  this  one,  either  in  the 
number  of  callers  or  the  importance  of  the  interests  involved. 
There  are  worse  days  and  worse  cases,  and  better  days  also. 
This  one  actual  day,  however,  will  show  that,  though  pastoral 
visitation  in  China  does  not  take  the  orthodox  English  form, 
it  is  nevertheless  a  very  real  "  visitation,"  and  gives  room — 
too  much  at  times — for  the  play  of  all  the  emotions,  as  well  as 
for  the  exercise  of  a  large  supply  of  patience,  judgment,  and 
discretion.  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?  That  we  do 
not  make  more  mistakes  is  due  to  our  staff  of  faithful  and 
experienced  pastors  and  leaders,  who  have  the  well-being  of 
the  Church  at  heart,  and  who  manfully  decline  to  allow  any 
wily  fellow-countr5mian  to  take  advantage  of  our  simplicity. 

In  our  "  visitation  "  we  come  across  much  that  is  pathetic, 
much  to  distress,  much  to  harass,  much  to  grieve,  but,  thank 
God !  much,  very  much  to  encourage  also.  And  when  un- 
worthy brethren  give  us  pain,  this  thought  gives  us  cheer, 
that  our  pastoral  visitation  makes  us  fully  acquainted  with 
the  worst  as  weU  as  the  best  in  our  Church  hfe,  and  we  thank 
God  for  the  ninety-five  per  cent,  of  our  people  who  never 
darken  our  doors. 

While  re-reading  this  chapter  another  visitation  has 
occurred  that  throws  still  further  light  on  aspects  of  our  life. 
Yesterday  morning  half-a-dozen  men  walked  into  my  study. 
They  were,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  two  separate  parties,  and 
Vinacquainted  with  each  other.     One  of  them  belonged  to  the 


PASTORAL   VISITATION  89 

China  Inland  Mission,  the  other  to  our  own.  Both  had  come 
from  the  northern  end  of  Cedar  Stream,  and  the  purport  of 
their  visit  was  to  report  that  the  secret  society  known  as  the 
Ko-lao-hwei  is  again  active,  and  planning  an  outbreak  for  the 
middle  of  the  present  month,  in  which  all  Christians  are  to  be 
slain  and  their  property  confiscated.  One  of  these  converts 
had  succeeded,  in  a  roundabout  manner,  in  obtaining  one  of 
the  printed  proclamations  of  the  enemy,  a  large  anti-Christian 
sheet,  which  is  to  be  posted  on  the  17th,  the  rising  to  take 
place  on  the  i8th. 

The  disturbing  news  has  already  affected  our  respective 
congregations,  the  weak-kneed  fearing  to  be  exposed  to  the 
distresses  that  fell  to  the  lot  of  so  many  of  their  number  in 
1900.  Our  people  know  well  from  personal  experience  the 
meaning  of  our  Lord's  words,  "  And  ye  shall  hear  of  wars  and 
rumours  of  war  "  ;  nor  can  we  blame  some  of  them  for  not 
also  reading  further,  "  See  that  ye  be  not  troubled."  Having 
done  my  best  to  strengthen  these  men,  and  through  them 
those  to  whom  they  would  return,  I  forwarded  to  the  man- 
darins the  news  we  had  received,  asking  them  to  kindly  take 
the  necessary  steps  for  the  preservation  of  peace.  In  the 
meantime  we  urge  all  our  people  not  to  be  dismayed,  for  that 
nothing  is  likely  to  come  of  this  matter  save  local  irritation 
and  annoyance  from  the  ill-disposed,  whom  they  should 
carefully  avoid. 

Again,  a  fortnight  ago,  on  reaching  the  city  I  found  two 
people  waiting.  It  was  Saturday  evening,  and  time  for 
Sunday  preparation,  which  made  them  far  from  welcome. 
Yet  between  them  they  provided  me  with  my  next  morning's 
sermon,  and  in  blessing  I  was  blessed.  The  two  were  an  old 
woman  of  sixty  and  a  respectable  man  of  forty,  both  strangers 
to  me.  At  my  approach  the  old  woman  fell  on  her  knees 
with  sobs  and  tears,  crying  for  help.  What  could  I  do  for  her, 
poor  thing  ?  Her  son  had  been  foully  murdered,  only  a  few 
days  before,  by  some  of  his  native  villagers,  who  hated  him  for 
being  a  Christian.     The  circumstances  were  as  follows. 

She  had  three  sons,  all  Christians,  decent,  inoffensive  young 
men.  Their  lot  after  conversion  was  a  constant  round  of  petty 
persecution,  resulting  in  their  pagan  neighbours  turning  them 
out  of  their  home.     During  this  expulsion  the  second  son  wcis 


90  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

badly  beaten  about  the  chest ;  soon  afterwards  he  had  an 
attack  of  haemorrhage  from  the  lungs,  and  died  a  few  months 
later.  The  mother  and  two  brothers  rented  another  house, 
and  faithfully  continued  attending  services.  Latterly,  a 
number  of  fellow- villagers  have  come  under  their  influence, 
and  begun  to  join  them,  in  consequence  of  which  the  opposi- 
tion has  become  more  embittered  than  ever. 

One  day,  recently,  a  relative  finding  a  wild  animal  amongst 
his  chickens,  chased  and  killed  it  in  the  fields.  Returning 
home,  he  met  the  third  son  of  the  old  widow,  and  said  to  him, 
"  I  have  just  killed  a  wild  animal  over  yonder.  You  Chris- 
tians aren't  afraid  of  eating  such  things,  you  say  (referring  to 
fear  of  demon  possession),  so  you  are  welcome  to  it."  The 
family  was  very  poor,  seldom  having  an  opportunity  of  eating 
meat,  so  the  youth  went  in  the  direction  indicated,  found  the 
animal,  brought  it  home,  cooked  it,  and  the  family  ate  it — no 
doubt  with  relish.  Next  day,  one  of  the  most  violent  of  tTie 
enemy  came  along,  and  falsely  declared  they  had  killed  and 
eaten  his  cat,  which,  however,  turned  up  all  right  the  day  fol- 
lowing. In  the  meantime  this  missing  cat,  not  that  he  cared 
for  it,  formed  a  pretext  for  a  row,  so  he  immediately  set  to 
work  to  smash  up  all  their  crockery  and  furniture,  including 
that  sacred  article  the  cooking  stove,  and  in  addition  beat  the 
mother  and  her  younger  son.  Our  local  pastor,  hearing  of 
this  outrage,  put  the  matter  into  the  hands  of  the  elder  of 
the  clan,  who  ordered  the  trifling  sum  of  $2  to  be  paid 
to  the  injured  family,  but  also  mulcted  the  ruffian's  people 
in  a  fine  of  S20,  the  amount  to  be  expended  in  the  repair 
of  the  village  bridge  ! 

A  fortnight  afterwards  the  poor  young  Christian  went 
on  to  the  hillside  to  cut  firing,  when  four  of  his  foes  seized 
him,  hacked  him  with  their  grass-cutters'  knives,  and  brained 
him  with  a  carrying  pole.  Report  says  that  when  they  had 
done  the  atrocious  deed  they  commenced  to  dig  a  grave  to 
bury  him,  but  just  then  a  terrific  thunder-storm  broke  over 
the  place  and  they  hurriedly  departed. 

Now,  the  poor  bereaved  old  widow  cries  for  help,  and  what 
can  one  do  ?  I  have  never  yet  asked  for  the  arrest  or  punish- 
ment of  any  one,  and  cannot  do  so  in  this  case.  She  must 
put  in  her  plaint  in  person,  and  induce  the  magistrate  to  go 


PASTORAL   VISITATION  91 

up  and  hold  the  usual  inquest.  She  tells  me  the  plaint  is 
already  entered,  but  the  magistrate  is  neglectful,  and  her 
son  is  rapidly  becoming  unrecognisable,  having  already  been 
dead  several  days.  Will  I  urge  him  to  go,  so  that  they  may 
put  the  poor  youth  into  a  coffin  and  out  of  sight  ?  Being 
on  friendly  terms  with  the  magistrate,  I  feel  justified  in 
acceding  to  her  request,  and  send  the  poor  sobbing  old  woman 
away  with  what  poor  comfort  I  may. 

Next  comes  the  man.  He  has  brought  a  letter  from  our 
Rainbow  Bridge  pastor,  who  speaks  kindly  of  him,  says 
he  has  only  come  for  comfort  in  distress,  and  will  I  do  what 
I  can  to  cheer  him  ?  What  is  his  tale  of  woe  ?  His  boy. 
a  youth  of  seventeen,  was  bathing  last  week,  and — alas  !  the 
oft-told  story  —  was  drowned.  The  boy  had  attended 
service,  not,  it  is  true,  as  regularly  as  the  father  would  have 
liked  him  to  do,  but  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of  coming.  He 
was  "  a  good  lad  at  home,  but,  you  know,  he  was  young, 
and  probably  was  not  free  from  the  sins  of  youth,"  and  the 
father's  heart  was  troubled.  "  Is  my  son  saved,  does  the 
pastor  think  ?  "  "  Will  the  pastor  please  ask  God  to  for- 
give the  sins  of  my  son's  youth,  and  beg  Him  not  to  cast 
him  out  ?  " 

What  was  I  to  say  to  this  anxious  father,  who  had  come 
fifty  miles  to  put  this  momentous  question  ?  Patiently 
and  tenderly  I  tried  to  correct  his  wrong  view  of  God,  telling 
him  that  God  is  a  Father,  and  not  a  Moloch — pointing  out 
that  he,  for  his  son's  sake,  had  been  willing  to  come  fifty 
long  miles  to  ask  this  question,  and  did  he  think  the  Heavenly 
Father  cared  less  for  the  drowned  boy  than  an  earthly  father 
would  ?  After  correcting  his  view  of  God  as  far  as  in  me 
lay,  we  knelt  together,  and  asked  the  God  of  comfort 
to  cheer  the  bereaved  man,  and  reveal  to  him  that  his  son 
was  safe  in  the  keeping  of  the  Father,  Who  is  best  of  all. 

Before  departing,  he  handed  to  me  a  dollar  neatly  wrapped 
in  paper.  "  My  son,"  he  sa)d,  "  occasionally  earned  small 
sums  for  himself,  and  here  is  a  dollar  which  was 
his  own.  I  cannot  use  it,  and  would  like  you  to  employ 
it  in  the  church  somehow."  Next  morning  my  audience 
was  shown  the  dollar,  and  §,ave  a  most  attentive  hearing 
to  a  sermon  on  "  Wrong  Views  of  God." 


VI 
DISCIPLINE 

"  Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall." 

The  fact  that  there  are  but  few  backsHders  from  the  ranks  of 
our  members  is,  as  just  stated,  largely  due  to  the  care  exercised 
in  admission  to  baptism.  Nevertheless,  there  are  "  tempta- 
tions, doubts,  and  fears  "  in  China,  as  many  and  severe  as 
anywhere  in  the  world,  and  Chinese  Christians  are  men  of  like 
passions  and  weaknesses  with  ourselves.  Consequently  some 
of  them  do  fall  from  grace,  and,  for  the  sake  of  others  as  well 
as  themselves,  discipline  is  necessary. 

Two  main  views  are  held  of  the  Church  and  its  discipline. 
One  school  sees  in  the  Church  an  army,  the  army  of  the  Lord, 
its  pastors  and  leaders  being  officers  possessing  disciplinary 
powers,  which  take  little  note  of  the  feelings  of  the  disciplined. 
It  was  men  of  this  school  who,  in  England,  during  the  last 
decade,  excluded  from  Church  fellowship  a  missionary  for  so 
far  "  falling  from  grace  "  as  to  sit  at  the  Lord's  table  in  China 
with  other  Christians,  instead  of  only  at  the  denominational 
table  with  the  "  elect."  The  other  school  sees  in  the  Church 
a  family  in  which  discipline  must  have  restoration  for  its  chief 
aim.  A  good  father  may  and  will,  if  necessary,  discipline  his 
son ;  but  while  many  a  bad  son  has  left  the  home  of  a  good 
father,  the  latter  hesitates  long  before  he  turns  a  bad  son  out 
of  doors  ;  he  waits  patiently  for  reform. 

We  have  three  modes  of  discipline — first,  temporary  ex- 
clusion from  Communion  ;  second,  removal  of  the  name  from 
our  register  ;  and  third,  in  scandalous  cases,  public  expulsion 
by  means  of  a  written  notice  posted  on  the  church  door.  For 
the  present,  except  in  gross  cases  requiring  immediate  action, 
discipline  is  the  prerogative  of  the  circuit  in  meeting  assembled, 
so  as  to  lift  the  matter  above  the  influence  of  mere  local 
93 


DISCIPLINE  93 

jealousy  or  intrigue.  With  the  growth  of  the  work  and  the 
local  increase  of  members,  this  authority  will  some  day  be 
delegated  to  the  local  church,  with  perhaps  right  of  appeal  to 
the  circuit  meeting.  In  the  meantime,  the  circuit  is  better 
able  to  take  a  calm  view  of  a  case  than  is  a  small  church, 
wherein  faction  and  party  strife,  while  exceedingly  unusual, 
are  nevertheless  always  possible. 

Behold  then  a  circuit  meeting  !  Here  are  gathered  from 
near  and  far  the  native  pastors  of  the  circuit,  its  local 
preachers,  and  its  leaders.  The  half-hour's  exposition  of 
Scripture  is  finished,  the  circuit  levy  collected  from  each 
leader,  and  now  the  attendance  registers  are  one  by  one 
brought  forward  as  each  church  is  named  and  its  leader 
requested  to  rise  in  his  place.  The  questions  are  then  put, 
"  Are  all  the  baptised  members  standing  firm  in  the  faith  ?  " 
"  Do  they  regularly  attend  divine  service  ?  "  "  Have  any 
deaths  occurred  ?  "  To  each  of  these  questions,  as  it  is  put, 
the  leader  gives  his  reply. 

Here  is  a  case  in  point.  At  our  last  city  circuit  meeting  a 
leader,  who  is  also  a  local  preacher,  replying  to  the  first  query, 
stated  that  there  was  in  his  book  a  name  which  ought  to  be 
expunged.  Discussion  showed  that  the  man  in  question  had 
failed  in  business  and  that  the  leader  had  suffered  consider- 
able loss,  having  in  addition  been  led  by  the  man  into  a 
certain  amount  of  responsibility  and  difficulty.  Ordinarily  a 
just  and  fair-minded  man,  his  own  private  loss  had  apparently 
biassed  his  opinion,  and  the  meeting  did  not  see  its  way  to 
adopt  so  extreme  a  course  as  expulsion  without  further 
inquiry,  especially  as  the  delinquent  was  still  attending  our 
services.  The  fact  that  shame  had  driven  the  man  to  attempt 
suicide  was  also  taken  into  consideration,  and  his  case  post- 
poned for  further  inquiry,  pending  which  he  was  formally 
suspended  from  Communion,  from  which  indeed  he  had 
already  withdrawn  himself. 

Opium-growing  is  another  cause  of  a  proportion  of  our  cases 
of  discipline.  It  is  against  the  rules  of  our  Church  for  any  man 
to  grow,  sell,  or  smoke  opium.  This  regulation  entails  much 
hardship  on  both  pastor  and  people,  and  in  certain  districts 
the  self-denial  involved  is  great  indeed.  When  it  is  borne  in 
mind  that  the  annual  rental  of  good  land  fit  for  opium  cultiva- 


94  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

tion  has  doubled,  and  that  opium  is  a  spring  crop,  bringing  in 
from  four  to  eight  times  as  much  as  any  other  spring  crop,  and 
not  interfering  with  the  important  summer  cultivation  of  rice, 
it  is  easy  to  see  what  a  serious  loss  this  self-denial  means  to  the 
Christian  farmer,  very  often  making  all  the  difference  between 
daily  comfort  and  the  constant  worry  of  daily  indigence. 

Can  it  be  wondered,  then,  that  when  discipline  is  rendered 
necessary  by  the  defection,  through  opium-growing,  of  a 
member  of  the  Church,  it  is  administered  with  many  a  heart- 
ache ?  Occasionally  a  member  who  has  planted  poppy 
abstains  on  his  own  initiative  from  Communion,  recognising 
that  he  "  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon."  Many  pro- 
bationers deliberately  refrain  from  baptism.  A  few  months 
ago  a  young  man,  a  would-be  candidate  for  admission,  stood 
longingly  gazing  at  the  row  of  men  undergoing  examination, 
but  the  pastor  had  said,  "  Before  you  sit  down,  first  make  up 
your  mind  about  opium,  whether  you  are  sufficiently  deter- 
mined to  keep  it  out  of  your  fields."  He  could  afford  to  do 
without  this  income,  but  his  wife  was  not  a  Christian,  and 
insisted  on  his  growing  the  drug.  When  the  last  candidate 
had  been  passed,  he  turned  sadly  away,  as  did  the  rich  young 
man  on  hearing  our  Lord's  command,  and  we  too  were  sad. 

Gambling  and  lotteries  are  another  source  of  defection. 
Both  gambling  and  opium-smoking  have  their  tap-root  in 
monotony.  The  Chinese  have  no  sports,  nor  any  harmless 
amusements  ;  they  have  scarcely  any  light  literature,  and 
as  to  newspapers,  even  if  the  mass  of  the  people  were  able  to 
read  them,  they  are  too  modem  to  be  of  absorbing  interest. 
Apart  from  the  theatre,  which,  being  in  the  open  street  or 
temple,  is  free  to  all,  or  an  occasional  game  of  chess,  which 
again  is  a  recreation  only  for  the  few,  there  is  little  left  to 
relieve  the  daily  monotony  of  their  sordid  life.  There  are  no 
clubs,  no  reading-rooms,  no  Y.M.C.A.'s,  no  billiards  or  baga- 
telle, no  lectures,  no  politics,  no  elections,  no  concerts,  except 
the  squall  of  an  occasional  blind  ballad-singer.  What  is  a 
man  to  do  by  way  of  amusement  unless  it  be  to  "  have 
a  gamble "  occasionally  !  Hence,  gambling  and  lotteries, 
though  forbidden  by  law,  are  the  common  and  open  ex- 
perience of  daily  life,  as  is  evidenced,  first,  by  the  number  of 
proclamations  with  which  the  magistrate,  himself  perhaps 


DISCIPLINE  95 

fond  of  a  "  flutter,"  decorates  the  city,  giving  "  stringent 
orders  "  for  the  arrest  of  all  deHnquents,  and,  second,  by  the 
almost  entire  absence  of  any  such  arrests. 

A  Christian  now  and  then  falls  into  this  temptation,  and 
notice  must  be  promptly  taken  of  his  misconduct.  The 
circuit  meeting  appoints  one  or  two  of  its  members  to  inter- 
view the  brother,  and  if  he  shows  penitence  no  further  action 
is  taken.  Should  he  again  repeat  his  offence  suspension 
follows.  The  Yotsing  people  are  specially  prone  to  this  vice, 
as  also  to  litigation,  and  our  cases  of  discipline  for  gambling 
are  almost  wholly  confined  to  that  circuit.  Three  years  ago, 
we  there  had  to  suspend  a  local  preacher,  well  over  sixty 
years  of  age,  one  of  our  oldest  members  in  that  neighbour- 
hood, for  a  repeated  fall.  A  month  ago,  also,  I  wrote  to 
another  local  preacher  in  this  same  circuit,  by  request  of  the 
circuit  meeting,  demanding  the  immediate  return  of  his 
"  plan,"  because  of  his  offence  against  this  rule. 

Idolatry  seldom  reclaims  any  of  our  converts.  When  once 
their  minds  are  opened  to  the  folly  of  worshipping  a  dumb 
idol,  they  seldom  again  yield  to  this  form  of  superstition. 
Sometimes,  if  a  member  of  the  family  be  ill,  a  man  may  be 
driven  to  permit  his  unconverted  wife  or  son  to  have  their  way 
in  going  before  an  idol ;  sometimes,  if  he  himself  be  ill,  his 
family  or  relatives,  unknown  to  him,  go  and  worship  the  gods 
on  his  account.  Even  these  are  rare  events,  and  are  invari- 
ably mentioned  at  the  circuit  meeting,  resulting  in  an  inquiry 
as  to  the  Christian's  own  complicity  or  otherwise  in  the 
matter.  After  a  man  has  had  the  courage,  personally  or 
vicariously,  to  take  down  and  destroy  his  idols,  he  seldom 
goes  back  to  them,  and,  if  we  had  as  few  cases  of  discipline  for 
moral  delinquency  as  we  have  for  relapse  to  idolatry,  well- 
nigh  all  discipline  might  be  relaxed. 

Family  opposition  is  an  occasional  cause  for  inquiry.  Last 
week  there  was  brought  forward  for  consideration  the  name  of 
a  man  who  had  been  at  only  one  or  two  services  for  nearly  a 
year.  His  name  had  been  discussed  at  the  previous  meeting, 
and  now  the  report  was  made  that  he  himself  believed  as  sin- 
cerely as  ever,  but,  the  family  being  poor,  his  wife,  who  ruled 
the  roost,  would  not  let  him  come  to  service,  insisting  on  his 
working  on  Sundays  as  of  old.    The  meeting  decided  to  leave 


96  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

the  matter,  believing  that  time  and  the  encouragement  of  his 
fehow-Christians  would  bring  about  the  desired  result. 

Indifference,  as  in  England,  is  another  cause  of  relapse. 
Time,  now  as  ever,  makes  some  tired  and  faint.  It  is  "  they 
that  endure  to  the  end  "  who  have  joy,  but  the  end  seems  a 
long  way  off  to  some.  Moreover,  there  are  no  meretricious 
allurements  about  the  Christian  life  and  its  religious  services 
out  here.  On  the  contrary,  it  involves  much  hardship  and 
constant  restraint.  The  services  also,  away  from  the  chief 
centres — nor  need  we  except  even  these — are  bare  and  un- 
attractive save  to  the  spiritually  minded  ;  there  are  no  choirs, 
no  organs,  no  bright  singing,  often  but  mediocre  preaching, 
no  tea  meetings,  no  sewing  meetings,  no  "  socials."  Idolatry 
has  some  attractions  ;  Christianity  has  none,  save  the  hidden 
attractions  of  the  heart.  In  the  native  religions  there  are 
festivals  three  or  four  times  a  year,  with  their  attendant 
colour,  gaiety,  theatricals,  spectacular  attractions,  lanterns, 
dragon  boats,  and  other  varieties,  which  for  the  moment  take 
something  from  the  drabness  of  life  ;  but  from  these  our 
people  are  debarred.  Seeing  that  Christianity  cannot  offer 
any  seductions  of  this  character,  it  need  be  no  matter  for 
surprise  that  some  grow  tired — they  always  have  done,  ever 
since  the  world  was  created.  Indeed,  the  wonder  is  their 
number  is  so  few.  Such  names  come  up  at  every  circuit 
meeting,  and  some  worthy  man  is  sent  to  stimulate  the 
wavering  individual. 

Another  cause  of  discipline  is  immorality.  When  one 
bears  in  mind  the  low  condition  of  Chinese  moral  life,  it  is  with 
deep  thankfulenss  that  we  can  with  aU  confidence  assert  that 
the  moral  character  of  our  members  is  immeasurably 
superior  to  that  of  their  neighbours.  Out  of  two  thousand 
members  we  are  not  caUed  upon  to  exclude  more  than  four  or 
five  per  annum,  a  record  which  does  not  come  far  below  that 
of  our  home  churches.  Nor  is  any  laxity  shown,  for  this  is 
the  one  sin  which  our  circuit  meetings  will  not  tolerate.  On 
a  definite  charge  of  immorality  being  made  against  a  member 
by  his  leader,  or  by  any  other  member  of  the  circuit  meeting, 
the  opinion  of  that  meeting  is  easily  ascertained.  Suspension  is 
the  first  step,  wherever  the  case  is  not  too  flagrant  to  destroy 
hope  of  restoration.     In  repeated  cases  open  dismissal   is 


DISCIPLINE  97 

adopted,  the  member's  name  being  expunged  from  the 
registers,  circuit  and  local ;  and  in  cases  that  have  become 
notorious — an  extremely  rare  event — a  public  notice  is  also 
posted,  that  all  may  know  what  is  our  attitude  towards  sin  of 
this  description. 

Concubinage  is  very  common  amongst  the  Chinese. 
Mandarins  and  wealthy  men  often  have  a  principal  wife, 
and  two,  three,  or  four  secondary  wives.  The  rejection 
or  admission  of  such  persons,  whether  husband  or  wife, 
is  a  subject  by  no  means  free  from  difficulty.  The  woman 
is  not  a  free  agent ;  and  as  to  the  man,  to  compel  him  to 
put  away  his  concubine  would,  in  many  cases,  mean  turning 
the  mother  of  his  children  out  of  doors.  Even  where  this 
is  not  the  case,  to  ask  him  to  make  separate  provision  for 
her  would  not  be  wise,  or  in  most  cases  possible.  Some, 
especially  amongst  the  lady  missionaries,  are  strongly  opposed 
to  any  such  course,  as  grossly  unjust  to  the  woman. 
While  we  should  not  be  opposed  to  the  admission,  after  a  pro- 
longed probation,  of  an  individual  who  in  the  days  of  his 
ignorance  had  entered  into  such  an  alliance,  we  set  our  faces 
rigidly  against  an  actual  member  of  the  Church  entering  into 
any  such  state  of  bigamy.  We  have  had  but  two  cases  of  the 
kind. 

The  first  happened  twenty  years  ago.  He  was  an  elderly 
man,  who  had  no  son  ;  and,  being  possessed  of  property,  was 
anxious  to  have  an  heir  of  his  own.  The  laws  of  China  make 
the  adoption  of  a  son  no  easy  matter,  for  in  this  land  a  man 
may  not  dispose  of  his  property  at  will.  Law  and  custom, 
in  default  of  a  son,  dispose  of  his  property  to  a  nephew,  or, 
to  be  accurate,  to  the  nearest  male  relative  of  a  succeeding 
generation  in  the  same  clan,  who  is  not  already  senior  heir-at- 
law  to  another  ;  that  is,  not  already  engaged  to  offer  sacrifice 
as  eldest  son  to  an  immediate  ancestor.  Much  litigation 
and  many  quarrels  arise  out  of  this  unreasonable  law.  A 
man  may  not  leave  his  property  to  a  daughter,  though  he 
sometimes  alienates  part  of  it  to  her  during  his  lifetime, 
this  also  often  forming  a  subject  of  strife  after  his  death.  It 
a  son  be  adopted,  the  father  must  obtain  the  sanction  of 
his  clan,  or  relatives,  a  deed  must  be  signed,  and]the  adopted 
son's  name  be  admitted  to  the  clan  register.  It  is  this  law, 
G 


98  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

and  the  demands  of  ancestral  worship,  that  are  the  two 
chief  causes  of  concubinage  in  China. 

So  Mr  Chu,  having  some  property  and  no  son,  decided 
to  marry  a  secondary  wife.  He  was  urgently  besought  not 
to  do  any  such  thing  ;  the  breach  of  Christian  law  was 
pointed  out,  as  also  the  evils  commonly  attendant  on  this 
practice.  In  vain  we  argued  with  him,  endeavouring  also 
to  point  out  that  it  mattered  little  what  became  of  his  pro- 
perty after  he  had  done  with  it.  Our  arguments  failed  to 
move  him  from  his  purpose,  and  he  took  the  woman.  For 
the  sake  of  the  Church's  well-being  we  were  advised  to  suspend 
him  from  Communion,  and  did  so.  His  future  was  not  happy, 
for  the  woman  made  his  life  miserable  ;  a  lawsuit  supervened, 
and  the  riches  on  which  his  heart  and  life  were  set  melted 
away  from  his  own  into  the  pockets  of  yamen  runners  and 
others,  nor  did  he  long  survive  the  lawsuit.  Verily  "  he 
that  saveth  his  life  shall  lose  it." 

The  next  case  was  five  or  six  years  ago.  The  man  was 
a  military  graduate  of  the  second  degree,  a  person  of  much 
influence  in  his  neighbourhood.  He  had  amassed  consider- 
able wealth,  and  had  three  daughters,  but  no  son.  His 
nephews  were  wastrels,  and  it  cut  him  to  the  heart  that  what 
had  cost  him  so  much  toil  to  gather,  should  go  to  one  of  these, 
who  would  gamble  it  all  away  in  a  tenth  of  the  time  he  had 
laboriously  spent  in  collecting  it.  On  becoming  a  Christian 
he  had  suffered  serious  loss  of  prestige,  and  had  patiently 
borne  the  burden  and  heat  of  scorn  and  opposition  for  a 
number  of  years.  Now,  however,  the  pressure  of  this  tempta- 
tion came  upon  him,  and  there  were  enough  and  to  spare 
of  professional  match-makers  about,  urging  him  to  follow 
the  usual  course.  Even  his  own  wife  added  her  persuasions 
to  theirs. 

At  last  he  yielded,  and  an  engagement  was  entered  into. 
The  news  soon  reached  me,  and  I  wrote  him  a  kind  and  urgent 
letter,  pointing  out  that  such  action  was  sin  according  to  the 
law  of  Christ.  Our  beloved  Pastor  "  Summer"  took  the  letter, 
read  aloud  its  contents,  handed  it  over  to  him,  and  begged 
that  he  would  obey  God  and  do  His  will.  Summer  told 
afterwards  how  the  M.A.  sat  for  "  at  least  two  hours,"  with 
the  letter  in  his  hand,  saying  nothing,  pale  and  troubled. 


DISCIPLINE  99 

Late  that  night,  after  kneehng  together,  they  each  retired, 
but,  in  the  small  hours,  Summer  was  aroused  from  his  sleep 
by  the  M.A.,  who  wished  to  say  that  he  had  thought  the 
matter  over,  that  he  reahsed  well  enough  it  would  be  sin 
for  him  to  take  the  woman,  and  that  he  had  decided  to  give 
Summer  full  authority  to  put  an  end  to  the  engagement, 
and  lose  the  money  already  paid.  Great  was  our  thankful- 
ness and  rejoicing.  Alas  !  before  a  year  had  passed,  the 
pressure  had  again  become  too  strong.  He  yielded,  took 
a  subsidiary  wife,  and  while  still  attending  Divine  worship, 
he  has  lost  all  his  old  brightness  and  joy  in  Christ,  and  has 
become  a  paralysed  soul.  We  still  hope  that  some  day  he 
may  be  restored  to  spiritual  health,  but  when  true  repentance 
has  become  impossible,  full  spiritual  health  is  extremely 
difficult. 

The  preceding  cases  have  been  exhibited  to  show  some  of 
the  temptations  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  our  native  Christians. 
The  wonder  is  not  that  a  few  fall  away  every  year,  but  that 
any  one  of  them  stands  firm.  This  is  a  miracle  to  some  of 
us  who  live  amongst  them.  Our  Christians  are  far  from  per- 
fect, but,  pro  rata  to  their  surroundings,  they  are  not  behind 
their  English  brethren,  and  they  are  certainly  far  ahead  of 
many  of  the  Europeans  who  live  in  China.  Many  of  them, 
— not  all,  by  any  means — love  truth  for  conscience'  sake  ; 
but  subterfuge  and  deceit  are  so  ingrained  in  the  national 
character,  that  the  story  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira  presents 
fewer  difficulties  to  some  of  us  now  than  it  formerly  did, 
for  malignant  diseases  demand  drastic  i-emedies,  and  fear 
of  a  lie  must  precede  the  love  of  truth.  Suffice  it,  that  our 
people  are  now  conscious  of  the  evil  of  lying,  and  are  trying 
to  order  their  lives  on  the  principles  of  truth  and  righteousness. 


VII 
TYPES  OF  CONVERTS 

"  God  hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  to  confound  the  wise,  and  the 
weak  things  to  confound  the  mighty." 

A  GENTLEMAN  once  asked,  "  From  what  class  do  your  converts 
come  ?  Are  they  not  all  of  the  lowest  grade,  and  do  they  not 
come  for  what  they  can  get,  in  other  words  are  they  not  'rice 
Christians  '  ?  "  That  a  few  come  for  "  what  they  can  get  " 
is  true,  and,  as  a  consequence,  seldom  get  it ;  they  sometimes 
get  something  better,  and  become  Christians  in  spite  of 
themselves. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  our  people  come  from  all  classes,  but 
the  majority  are  small  tenant  or  proprietary  farmers,  respect- 
able men  who  have  all  their  lives  conducted  themselves 
according  to  local  ideas  of  decency  and  rectitude.  These 
farmers  are  the  backbone  of  China,  and  in  them  lies  China's 
hope.  Physically  they  are  fine  sturdy  fellows,  and  mentally, 
morally  and  spiritually  there  are  only  ordinary  human 
limitations  to  their  ultimate  development.  In  addition  to 
these  we  have  shopkeepers  and  artisans,  builders  and  hawkers, 
scholars  and  gentry,  and,  needless  to  say,  "  we  have  the 
poor  always  with  us,"  without  whom,  indeed,  we  should 
be  ashamed. 

That  there  was  a  time  when  the  humble  and  ill-clad  were 
our  principal  witnesses  for  Christ  is  a  fact  we  proudly  acknow- 
ledge, for  is  it  not  the  crowning  item  of  Christ's  "  Programme  " 
that  "  the  poor  have  the  Gospel  preached  to  them  !  "  And 
has  not  God  chosen  the  foolish  things  and  the  weak  to 
confound  the  wise  and  the  mighty  ! 

hiot  long  since  a  septuagenarian  lady,  who  justifiably 
prides  herself  on  her  cleanliness  and  neatness,  and  who  became 
a  Christian  during  the  infancy  of  our  Wenchow  work,  came  to 


TYPES  OF  CONVERTS  loi 

have  a  chat  with  me.  In  the  course  of  conversation  she 
remarked,  "  We  have  improved  much  at  the  Zing-see  (our 
City  church)  since  I  came  first.  Then,  nearly  all  the  Chris- 
tians wore  torn  smocks  and  straw  shoes  ;  nowadays  it  is 
quite  a  pleasure  to  meet  so  many  nicely  dressed  people  at  the 
services."  The  change  is  certainly  pleasanter  from  the 
aesthetic  point  of  view,  but  whether  it  is  matter  of  congratula- 
tion from  the  Christian  standpoint  is  another  question. 

There  is  not  much  immediate  likelihood  of  many  noble  and 
many  wealthy  joining  our  ranks,  for  to-day  as  in  the  days  of 
our  Lord,  it  is  still  hard  for  the  rich  man  to  enter  into  the 
higher  life,  the  kingdom  of  the  soul ;  he  is  too  firmly  tied  to 
earth,  to  his  wealth,  his  comfort,  his  standing  with  his  fellows. 
Discussing  this  matter  once  with  a  mandarin  interested  in 
Christianity,  I  pointed  out  that  Jesus  Christ  taught  that  mere 
nobility  of  worldly  position  is  unfit  to  rank  with  nobility  of 
soul,  and  that  though  many  of  our  Christians  might  be  poor 
in  this  world's  goods,  yet — in  a  handsome  public  building  the 
most  important  stones  are  the  rough  unhewn  ones,  buried  in 
the  foundations  beneath  the  ground.  So  with  our  people : 
they  are  the  strong,  faithful  foundation,  upon  which  the 
glorious  Temple  of  God  is  in  course  of  erection  ;  the  polished 
stones  are  also  now  arriving,  and  soon  not  only  "  strength  " 
but  "  beauty  "  will  be  "  in  His  tabernacle." 

It  is  proposed  in  this  chapter  to  give  types  of  some  of  our 
men  ;  the  women  will  be  left  till  later.  Most  of  our  best 
Christians,  however,  call  for  no  mention  at  all  in  this  book, 
save  that  they  are  men  who  "  live  a  godly,  sober  and  righteous 
life,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father."  If  "  happy  is  the 
country  whose  annals  are  dull,"  then  happy  is  the  missionary 
whose  churches  consist  of  "  dull  "  men  of  this  type  ;  he  will 
seldom  see  or  hear  them,  for  they  stand  not  "  in  the  corners 
of  the  streets,  that  they  may  be  seen  and  heard  of  men." 
This  type  need  not  be  further  discussed  ;  it  is  found  every- 
where in  aU  the  world,  and  wherever  it  is  located  it  is  sturdy, 
unobtrusive,  effective.  There  are,  however,  outstanding  men 
in  most  churches  in  China,  men  who  have  a  story,  and  of  a 
few  of  these  this  chapter  shall  tell. 

Ling  Fuh  Pah,  in  other  words  Uncle  Ling  Fuh,  was  a  man 
whose  double  I  knew  and  esteemed  at  home.     Both  were  of 


I02  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

similar  build,  of  similar  facial  appearance,  of  equal  abrupt- 
ness, sincerity  and  fervour,  and  both  were  market  gardeners. 
Ling  Fuh  Pah  in  appearance,  as  in  character,  was  quaint  and 
unusual.  Before  his  conversion  he  was  literally  a  striking 
character,  for  his  fists  were  ever  ready  for  any  one  who  wanted 
them,  sometimes  even  for  those  who  had  no  such  desire. 
There  he  stands  before  me  now,  firm  as  an  oak  and  just  as 
gnarled  and  wrinkled,  bandy  legs,  turned-in  toes,  shoulders 
broad  and  bowed,  hands  of  horn  and  muscles  of  iron,  a 
straggling  moustache,  and  three  scraggy  sandy  beards,  one  at 
each  joint  of  his  jaw,  and  a  third  on  his  chin — all  he  can  grow, 
for  the  Chinese  have  but  scanty  beards — his  jaw  is  square  and 
resolute,  his  eyes  red  and  small,  and  his  skin  has  been  ploughed 
into  deep  furrows  by  sixty  years  of  torrid  sun  and  wintry 
blast. 

My  first  acquaintance  with  him  was  a  few  days  after 
arriving  in  Wenchow,  whither  my  esteemed  superintendent, 
the  Rev.  F.  Galpin,  had  brought  me  from  Ningpo  for  induction 
into  my  new  charge.  One  evening,  just  before  leaving  me  to 
loneliness  and  fate,  we  were  seated  chatting  together  prior  to 
evening  prayers,  when  in  came  quietly  and  without  knocking 
this  old  man.  Standing  by  the  door  respectfully  and  shyly, 
he  was  soon  invited  to  sit  down  and  state  his  business.  He 
accepted  the  first  half  of  the  invitation,  but  hesitated  to  tell 
his  errand.  Being  pressed,  he  fell  on  his  knees,  began  to  pray 
in  a  whispering  voice,  and  presently  on  arising,  crept  to  the 
side  of  Mr  Galpin's  chair,  and  there  in  enigmatical  terms 
began  to  ask  him  to  remove  the  Ningpo  preacher  who,  since 
Mr  Exley,  my  predecessor's  death,  had  been  left  in  charge  of 
the  embryo  Wenchow  work. 

Urged  to  give  his  reasons,  he  could  only  say  that  the 
preacher  was  suspected  of  misconduct,  and  that  his  influence 
for  God  was  at  an  end  here.  Mr  Galpin  asked  what  I  would 
suggest,  and  in  my  youthful  distrust  of  mystery,  and  what 
seemed  like  sneaking,  I  hastily  replied,  "  I  should  tell  him  to 
leave  the  room,"  which  presently  the  old  man  did,  without 
being  told,  whereupon  Mr  Galpin  remarked,  "  Be  thankful  to 
have  honest  men  who  will  tell  you  the  truth.  It  is  not  so 
everywhere."  Since  then  I  have  learnt  the  value  of  having 
men  bold  enough  to  face  questions  of  this  nature,  in  a  spirit 


TYPES  OF  CONVERTS  103 

of  Christian  charity.  The  immediate  consequence  of  Ling 
Fuh  Pah's  courage  was  that  the  preacher  was  removed  from 
Wenchow ;  and,  in  default  of  adequate  evidence  against  him, 
given  a  fresh  trial  elsewhere. 

Unable  to  read  either  Testament  or  hymn-book,  Ling  Fuh 
was  dependent  for  all  he  learnt  upon  the  spoken  word,  and  he 
therefore  never  missed  a  service,  Sunday  or  week-day.  When- 
ever it  was  possible  on  week-day  afternoons  to  leave  his 
garden,  he  was  always  present  at  the  Street  chapel,  and  to  it 
he  brought  all  upon  whomsoever  he  could  lay  his  hands. 

The  next  time  Ling  Fuh  came  under  special  notice  was 
after  the  riot  of  1884.  His  beloved  meeting-place  had  been 
destroyed  by  a  ruthless  mob  ;  its  ruins  were  still  smoking  with 
the  destroyers'  fire ;  the  hearts  of  his  fellow-Christians  were 
overwhelmed  with  sorrow  ;  his  own  home  was  anything  but  a 
haven  of  rest,  and  danger  lurked  in  every  street.  He  had 
never  heard  of  Wesley's  hymns,  or  even  of  Wesley  himself,  but 
on  this  Monday  morning  he  became  fully  qualified  to  enter 
into  Charles  Wesley's  spirit  when  he  wrote  : — 

"  Surrounded  by  a  host  of  foes, 

Stormed  by  a  host  of  foes  within. 
Nor  swift  to  flee,  nor  strong  to  oppose. 

Single  against  hell,  earth,  and  sin. 
Single,  yet  undismayed  I  am  ; 
I  dare  believe  in  Jesu's  name." 

For  no  sooner  had  he  arrived  with  his  load  of  vegetables  at  his 
usual  stand  in  Market  Street,  than  he  was  set  upon  by  a  band 
cf  roughs.  Being  too  well-known  as  a  Christian  to  escape 
observation,  his  life  was  in  instant  jeopardy.  His  immediate 
destruction  was  proposed,  and  for  a  moment  death  and  life 
trembled  in  the  balance  ;  but  the  calmness  with  which  he 
pointed  to  a  butcher's  knife  on  a  stall  near  by,  and  said, 
"  There  is  the  knife,  and  here  is  my  old  throat ;  the  quicker 
you  kill  me  the  sooner  I  shall  be  in  Heaven,"  disarmed  his  foes, 
and  he  was  left  to  pursue  his  business,  if  not  altogether  in 
peace,  at  any  rate  in  temporary  safety. 

Ling  Fuh  Pah  once  told  me  the  story  of  his  conversion.  It 
was  something  like  this  : — 

"  I  was  a  wild,  reckless,  foul-mouthed  man,  always  spoiling 


104  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

for  a  fight.  If  any  one  helped  himself  to  my  vegetables,  it  was 
woe  to  him  when  I  caught  him.  But  one  day,  as  I  was  passing 
the  Street  chapel,  I  thought  I  would  go  in  and  hear  what  this 
'  foreign  '  preaching  was  about,  so  in  I  went,  and  stood 
amongst  the  people  at  the  back.  I  hardly  understood  it  all, 
but  one  phrase  went  to  my  heart,  and  I  could  not  rid  myself  of 
it.  The  preacher  said,  '  It  is  sin  to  curse  and  swear.'  Now 
I  had  not  opened  my  mouth  without  blasphemy  since  I  was  a 
child,  and,  if  it  was  a  wicked  thing  to  use  such  language,  what 
a  wicked  old  sinner  I  must  be  !  This  was  the  only  thought  I 
brought  away  with  me,  but  it  showed  me  how  much  in  need  of 
change  I  was,  and  proved  the  means  of  my  salvation." 

His  conversion  was  a  reality  ;  no  longer  was  he  the  Ling  Fuh 
of  yore,  his  lips  were  cleansed,  his  fierceness  tamed,  his  passions 
brought  under  control.  One  day,  he  saw  a  man  stealing  from 
his  garden.  The  man  caught  sight  of  him,  and  knowing  only 
the  old  Ling  Fuh,  fled  in  terror  ;  but  the  old  man  cried  out, 
"  Take  it  easy,  take  it  easy,  you'll  fall  and  hurt  yourself ; 
take  a  few  more."  He  overtook  the  would-be  thief,  who  fell 
on  his  knees  begging  for  mercy,  but  Ling  Fuh  lifted  him  up, 
and  giving  the  astonished  man  the  greens  he  had  gathered, 
bade  him  take  them  away  with  him.  The  old  man  was  also 
very  fond  of  a  pot  of  wine,  but,  finding  that  it  made  him 
pugnacious,  he  gave  it  up,  a  daily  self-denial. 

His  universal  greeting  was  "  Hoe-shie,  hoe-shie,"  "  It  is 
well,  it  is  well."  No  matter  whom  he  met  it  was  always 
"  Well,"  and  his  face  shone  and  wreathed  in  smiles  as  he  said 
it.  Nothing  would  induce  him  ever  to  admit  that  the  weather 
was  bad.  Were  it  a  roasting  day,  it  was  still  "  hoe-shie." 
Were  it  bitterly  cold  and  wet,  it  was  still  "  hoe-shie."  The 
King  can  do  no  wrong. 

He  had  two  fine  grown-up  sons,  married,  and  with  children 
of  their  own,  all  living  under  his  roof.  They  were  hard- 
working men,  and  filial  sons.  For  the  last  ten  years  of  his 
life  they  insisted  on  his  giving  up  work,  and  living  at  ease,  but 
this  did  not  satisfy  him.  Gladly  would  he  have  worked  in  his 
garden  to  the  end  of  his  days,  could  he  have  seen  them  con- 
verted. With  nothing  to  do,  he  spent  much  of  his  time  in  our 
kitchen,  and  many  were  the  sighs  and  groans  I  listened  to, 
and  many  the  prayers  he  offered  for  their  salvation.     Before 


TYPES  OF  CONVERTS  105 

his  death  he  had  the  joy  of  seeing  them  give  up  idolatry,  and 
occasionally  come  to  service,  but  he  never  experienced  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  them  "  soundly  converted,"  "  renewed  in 
the  spirit  of  their  mind."  Indeed,  though  they  are  in  frequent 
attendance  to-day,  they  have  not  yet  been  admitted  to 
baptism,  nor  is  there  any  present  indication  of  that  change 
without  which  baptism  is  a  mere  ceremony.  His  eldest 
grandson,  however,  who  for  many  years  shared  his  grand- 
father's bed,  was  a  daily  listener  to  his  earnest  prayers,  and 
the  object  of  his  solicitude,  has  been  a  Christian  from  child- 
hood, and  is  now  house-physician  at  our  hospital.  The  old 
man  passed  away  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty,  esteemed  by  all 
who  knew  him. 

Of  a  different  type  was  Mr  Chang.  I  was  passing  his 
old  house  a  few  days  ago,  and  if  I  did  not  take  off  my  hat, 
the  spirit  was  present  to  do  so.  At  any  rate  I  said  aloud, 
"  A  saint  lived  there."  It  is  no  palace,  nothing  but  a  one- 
storeyed  cottage,  so  low  that  a  tall  man  must  stoop  to  enter 
its  door,  so  narrow  that  the  few  articles  of  furniture  make 
it  look  crowded  ;  and  yet,  in  Mrs  Chang's  day,  it  was  always 
much  cleaner  than  the  usual  run  of  such  houses,  for  she 
and  her  mother  were  careful  and  tidy,  and  Mr  Chang  himself 
was  no  lover  of  disorder.  Dear  old  Chang  !  all  three,  wife, 
mother,  and  himself  are  now  in  heaven,  and  three  young 
orphan  daughters  are  left  dependent  on  our  charity. 

When  I  first  knew  him  he  was  a  tall,  lithe,  good-looking 
man,  approaching  thirty  years  of  age.  He  had  the  enthusiast's 
forehead,  eyes  of  a  frankness  not  general  amongst  the  sons 
of  Han,  and,  if  size  be  a  safe  criterion,  the  mouth  of  an  orator. 
His  face,  like  his  nature,  was  kind  and  benign,  and  through 
all  his  Christian  life,  despite  much  outspokenness,  I  never 
knew  him  make  an  enemy.  He  had  been  brought  up  to 
earn  his  li\'ing  as  a  cutter  of  imitation  paper  money,  that  is, 
he  trimmed  the  paper  upon  which  lead  foil  had  been  beaten, 
and  which  afterwards  was  shaped  into  imitation  silver  ingots, 
for  burning  in  idolatrous  and  ancestral  worship.  The  Chinese 
believe  that  this  paper  money  when  burnt  is  transformed 
into  real  buUion  in  the  other  world,  and  it  is  certainly  an 
inexpensive  method  of  enriching  one's  ancestors. 

It  was  Ling  Fuh  Pah  who  first  induced  Mr  Chang  to  come 


io6  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

and  hear  the  Gospel,  and  from  his  first  hearing  he  was 
attracted  by  the  magnetic  truth  of  God  and  His  salvation. 
His  wife  and  mother-in-law,  on  hearing  that  he  was  attending 
our  services,  evinced  the  bitterest  opposition,  and  for  a  long 
time  poor  Ling  Fuh  Pah  hardly  dare  show  his  cheery  face 
within  their  door.  Nor  can  one  blame  them,  for,  in  those 
days,  to  be  a  Christian  was  to  incur  much  more  odium  than 
is  incurred  by  a  pronounced  atheist  in  England,  for  when  you 
have  got  rid  of  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  gods  out 
of  a  thousand,  the  remaining  one  brings  you  very  near  to 
atheism. 

A  still  greater  trouble  was  soon  to  come  upon  them,  for, 
when  some  time  later  Mr  Chang  applied  for  baptism,  it  became 
necessary  to  point  out  to  him  that  his  trade  was  an  unfortunate 
barrier  to  this  privilege.  In  his  distress  he  was  urged  to  take 
the  matter  to  God,  and  seek  divine  aid  in  finding  another 
means  of  livelihood.  He  prayed  and  prayed  again  for 
months,  without  obtaining  the  desired  answer  to  his  petitions. 
God,  having  much  use  for  this  man,  willed  to  strengthen  him 
for  future  service  by  letting  him  answer  his  own  prayers. 

Unable  to  wait  any  longer,  and  much  to  the  chagrin  of 
his  family,  he  decided  to  give  up  his  own  lucrative  occupation, 
and  set  up  a  small  shop.  This  he  accordingly  did,  and  soon 
after  was  admitted  to  membership.  The  shop,  however, 
soon  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  wanted  a  change  of 
occupants,  so  it  flatly  refused  to  bring  in  a  living  wage  to 
Mr  Chang.  Disappointed  with  such  ingratitude,  he  decided 
to  leave  it  to  its  fate.  This  time,  again  resisting  the  entreaties, 
peaceful  and  warlike,  of  his  wife  and  her  mother,  to  return 
to  his  old  business,  he  got  together  a  "  pack,"  and  set  off  to 
try  and  make  a  living  as  a  bagman. 

It  was  a  weary  life,  involving  much  travel,  much  exposure 
to  the  elements,  much  chaffering,  little  profit,  and  few  oppor- 
tunities of  meeting  with  God's  people.  At  his  own  trade 
he  could  earn  two  to  three  hundred  dollars  a  year,  for  he 
was  a  first-rate  cutter.  As  a  bagman  his  income  never 
reached  a  higher  rate  than  fifty.  Let  the  man  who  receives 
an  income  of  ;^5  a  week  ask  himself  how  he  would  like  to  have 
it  cut  down  to  £1,  with  the  £$  still  within  his  reach  on  easy 
terms  were  he  but  willing  to  strain  his  conscience  :    such  a 


TYPES  OF  CONVERTS  10/ 

man  may  begin  to  realise  what  Mr  Chang  had  to  suffer  for 
faithfulness  to  the  truth  he  had  espoused. 

The  time  came,  when  having  dismissed  a  servant,  it  became 
necessary  for  me  to  look  around  for  another,  and  with  some 
hesitation  I  called  in  Chang,  told  him  the  duties  of  the  post, 
named  the  smallness  of  the  salary,  and  offered  him  the  berth. 
I  scarcely  expected  him  to  accept,  not  only  because  of  the 
small  pay,  but  because  of  the  menial  duties  involved.  He, 
however,  promptly  closed  with  my  offer,  saying  that  financi- 
ally he  would  be  as  well  off  as  in  his  present  business,  but 
that  what  he  valued  more  was  the  opportunity  thus  presented 
of  regular  attendance  on  the  services,  and  time  for  study 
of  the  Scriptures. 

It  was  while  he  was  my  servant  that  the  riot  of  1884 
occurred,  in  which  he  again  proved  his  loyalty  to  the  Faith. 
We  were  met  together  on  Saturday  evening,  October  the 
fourth,  1884,  for  our  usual  prayer  meeting.  The  times 
were  times  of  anxiety.  France  was  at  war  with  China,  and 
the  French  navy  was  not  far  away.  Moreover,  the  Taotai 
had  still  further,  though  unintentionally,  stirred  up  the 
feelings  of  the  people,  by  exhorting  every  householder  to 
get  together  a  pile  of  stones  at  his  door.  These  stones  he  had 
arranged  to  gather,  and  put  into  several  Noah's  arks  which 
he  was  building,  and  the  arks  when  full  were  in  their  turn 
to  be  towed  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  sunk  as  barriers, 
on  which  the  French  should  wreck  themselves  if  they 
attempted  an  entry. 

About  this  time  a  naval  battle  took  place  at  Foochow, 
the  next  port  south  of  us,  and  the  Chinese  fleet  was  completely 
destroyed.  But  a  very  different  report  was  soon  in  the 
mouths  of  the  Wenchow  people,  for,  according  to  them,  the 
Chinese  fleet  had  swept  the  barbarians  from  the  face  of  the 
waters.  Well  do  I  remember,  only  a  day  or  two  before  the 
riot,  a  man  in  the  main  street  of  the  city  turning  on  me  with 
well-affected  surprise,  and  saying  aloud,  "  What !  are  these 
barbarians  still  walking  our  streets  ?  " 

We  met  together  on  that  memorable  Saturday  night ; 
it  was  many  nights  before  we  assembled  again.  The  scene 
is  before  my  eyes  as  I  write — the  small  chapel  with  its  gloom- 
revealing   oil-lamps,    the   handful   of   tired   Christians,    the 


io8  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

harsh-voiced  preacher,  the  earnest  prayers.  Then,  a  speedy 
transformation  :  resounding  blows  on  the  gate,  a  howHng 
mob,  the  crashing  of  stones  and  breaking  of  windows,  a 
crowd  of  half-naked  roughs  in  our  native  outhouses,  a  blazing 
lamp  on  the  floor,  the  flight  of  the  mob  on  my  appearance, 
a  vain  appeal  to  them  from  the  back  door-step,  the  whirr 
of  a  large  stone  as  it  grazed  the  edge  of  my  hat,  the  groan 
of  a  Christian  behind  me  whom  it  struck  on  the  head,  our 
hasty  and  disheartened  withdrawal ;  very  soon  the  crashing 
of  stones  through  the  door  of  my  room,  the  front  street 
thronged  with  onlookers,  mostly  neighbours,  who  quietly  make 
way  for  the  youth  who  walks  as  calmly  as  he  can  through 
their  midst.  Next  comes  the  yamen  of  the  city  magistrate, 
with  its  clerks  and  gatekeepers  running  out  to  bar  the  entry 
of  the  foreigner  who  would  interview  his  worship  ;  a  hasty 
walk  to  the  compound  of  the  China  Inland  Mission,  and  a 
rapid  return  along  with  Mr  Jackson  ;  our  admission  and 
interview  with  the  mandarin,  to  whom  four  different 
messengers  had  already  been  vainly  sent ;  the  donning  of 
his  robes  of  office  and  disappearance  into  his  sedan  chair 
as  he  goes,  now  too  late,  to  the  seat  of  trouble ;  the  sky 
red  with  my  blazing  home,  our  attempt  to  sally  forth  to 
see  to  the  safety  of  others,  and  the  barrier  of  yamen  under- 
lings who  now  stop  our  exit  as  they  had  previously  barred 
my  entrance.  Presently  we  are  relieved  by  the  arrival  of 
Mr  Stott  and  Dr  Macgowan,  who,  thanks  to  Mr  Stott's  crutch, 
obtain  an  entrance  ;  thrust  into  the  closing  gateway  of  the 
yamen  just  in  the  nick  of  time,  it  prevented  their  being 
bolted  out,  in  which  case  they  would  have  been  at  the  mercy 
of  the  mob,  which  stoned  them  in  their  flight.  Now  follows 
the  sleepless,  anxious  night  in  the  magistrate's  reception 
hall,  the  light  of  our  burning  houses  making  the  sky  lurid 
for  hours.  Meanwhile  we  listen  to  the  hammering  of  every 
gong,  drum  and  tin  can  in  the  city,  for  there  is  an  eclipse 
of  the  moon,  and  whatever  becomes  of  the  foreigner,  the 
"  dog  "  must  by  every  means  be  prevented  from  swallowing 
the  queen  of  night. 

We  know  not  what  has  happened  to  our  Christians.  We 
know  not  what  may  yet  happen  to  ourselves.  Will  the  mob 
attack  the  yamen   and  drag  us  forth  ?      Is  the  magistrate 


TYPES  OF  CONVERTS  109 

able,  or  even  willing,  to  protect  us  ?  The  night  is  long,  but 
it  passes,  the  blessed  daylight  dawns  at  last,  revealing  our 
pallid  faces,  and  bringing  with  it  dear  Chang. 

"  We  have  sought  the  city  through  for  you,"  he  says,  as 
he  falls  on  one  knee  at  the  side  of  my  chair.  "  We  did  not 
know  what  had  become  of  you,  and  when  we  were  not  search- 
ing we  were  praying  for  your  safety.  It  is  such  a  relief  to 
see  you,  such  a  relief."  And  we,  too,  are  equally  glad  to 
see  him,  for  he  is  able  to  assure  us  of  the  safety  of  aU  our 
little  band  of  Christians ;  and  to  tell  us  that,  though  every 
particle  of  foreign  property  in  the  city  has  been  burnt,  the 
rioters  have  not  been  able  to  cross  the  river  to  the  British 
Consulate,  and  have  now  ah  dispersed. 

The  same  day  we  four  refugees  were  convoyed  by  several 
companies  of  soldiers  across  to  the  Consulate  to  approximate 
safety.  And  that  same  Sunday  morning  this  brave  man, 
along  with  Ling  Fuh  Pah,  called  all  the  Christians  together, 
and,  like  Daniel  at  his  window,  openly  held  Divine  Service 
in  his  own  house  ;  for  his  wife  and  her  mother  had  already 
become  converts.  During  the  next  three  months,  while 
it  was  deemed  inadvisable  for  missionaries  to  dwell  in  the 
city,  services  were  held  Sunday  by  Sunday  in  Chang's  house 
and  yard,  and  to  him  was  it  due  that  our  people  maintained 
their  faith  and  courage  during  those  dark  days. 

Soon  after  this  we  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  our  colporteur. 
By  profession  a  schoolmaster,  he  had  come  from  his  island 
home  on  a  visit  to  the  city.  Happening  to  pass  our  street 
chapel,  he  entered,  heard  the  new  doctrine,  and  becoming 
interested,  bought  a  New  Testament.  Months  passed,  and 
nothing  more  was  seen  of  the  young  teacher ;  but  one  day  he 
appeared  again,  a  stranger  to  us  but  not  to  his  Testament, 
every  page  of  which  he  had  carefully  marked  in  red  ink, 
indeed  on  some  pages  every  verse.  Later  he  was  baptised, 
then  appointed  colporteur.  Supported  by  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society,  he  went  about  selling  Bibles,  until  the 
riot  made  it  impossible,  for  the  time  being,  to  do  so  in  and 
around  Wenchow.  He  therefore  decided  to  work  his  way 
overland  to  Ningpo,  selling  Scriptures  as  he  passed  through 
the  county  of  Taichow,  which  lies  between  the  two  counties  of 
Wenchow  and  Ningpo. 


no  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

In  due  time  he  returned,  but  almost  immediately  fell  ill 
with  typhoid  fever,  and,  despite  our  careful  nursing,  died. 
This  was  a  sad  blow,  as  we  had  been  hoping  that  some  day 
he  would  be  an  effective  preacher,  especially  amongst  the 
numerous  and  well-populated  islands  out  at  sea.  Yet  his 
influence  was  not  lost,  for  his  parents  and  sister  became 
Christians ;  and  to-day  his  sister's  son,  after  some  years'  educa- 
tion in  our  College,  is  a  preacher  of  recognised  ability.  More- 
over, on  his  island,  which  is  about  as  large  as  the  Isle  of  Wight,- 
we  now  have  six  churches. 

The  death  of  this  colporteur  opened  a  door  of  usefulness  for 
Mr  Chang.  At  that  time  he  was  our  cook,  a  poor  cook,  but  a 
good  Christian — about  as  trying  a  combination  as  a  mistress 
can  have  !  Human  nature  reasonably  resents  a  poor  cook 
who  is  also  a  poor  Christian,  and  alas  !  human  nature  can 
easily  put  up  with  a  good  cook  who  is  a  poor  Christian,  but  it 
is  tried  indeed  with  a  cook  whose  godliness  is  transparent 
everywhere  but  in  his  dishes  !  We  felt,  however,  that  Chang 
was  too  good  a  man  to  be  spending  his  time  in  our  kitchen. 
At  the  same  time  where  to  look  for  another  cook  we  did  not 
know,  as  there  were  no  trained  servants  to  be  had  here.  After 
much  consideration,  at  last  I  one  day  called  him  in,  and 
addressing  him  by  name,  said : — 

"  You  know  that  we  are  now  without  colporteur,  and  are 
desirous  of  appointing  another.  The  wages  are  the  same  that 
you  have  as  our  servant,  but  the  work  is  accompanied  with 
considerable  danger,  and  at  least  much  insult  will  have  to  be 
borne.     I  wonder  whether  you  would  like  the  post." 

The  tears  sprang  instantly  to  his  eyes  as  he  replied : — 

"  Nothing  would  give  me  greater  joy  than  to  go  round 
witnessing  for  the  Saviour.  It  is  the  very  thing  I  should  like 
to  do  above  all  others,  and  I  am  ready  to  go  even  into  the  den 
of  lions  if  need  be." 

We  lost  our  cook,  and  got — a  worse  ;  but  the  Church 
obtained  a  worker  of  unsurpassed  devotion  and  sincerity.  A 
few  months  afterwards  it  became  advisable  to  dismiss  our 
borrowed  preacher.  He  was  harsh  and  overbearing  in  manner, 
and  his  theology  was  of  the  bitterest.  To  him  there  was 
no  difficulty  in  consigning  to  endless  torture  all  the  an- 
cestors of  his  auditors,  good  and  bad  alike,  and  this  without 


TYPES  OF  CONVERTS  in 

a  pang  in  his  heart,  or  a  strain  of  sympathy  in  his  voice. 
Chang's  only  education  was  that  which  he  had  acquired  in  the 
study  of  his  Bible  and  hymn-book,  but  his  intelligence, 
loyalty  and  energy,  pointed  him  out  as  the  one  best  suited  to 
our  needs.  By  degrees  he  slid  into  the  late  preacher's  office, 
and  never  did  we  regret  it,  for  it  was  with  his  aid  that  our 
country  work  was  commenced  and  developed.  Many  were 
the  preaching  tours  he  and  I  took  together,  many  the  boats 
we  shared,  many  the  drenchings  we  endured,  many  the  league 
we  walked,  and  many  the  native  meal  that  we  with  sharp 
appetite  ate  together. 

One  such  tour,  which  we  took  together  seventeen  or 
eighteen  years  ago,  I  remember  in  particular.  Four  young 
men  had  been  coming  to  the  city  services  for  some  time,  from 
the  large  village  of  Underbridge,  now  the  head  of  our  Outer 
Westbrook  Circuit.  It  is  fifteen  miles  up  the  river,  and  these 
young  men  were  anxious  to  start  a  branch  church  in  their 
village.  Chang  had  been  sent  to  reconnoitre,  and  having 
reported  favourably,  it  was  decided  that  I  should  also  pay  the 
place  a  visit.  We  hired  a  boat,  set  off  one  lovely  autumn  day, 
and  in  due  course  reached  our  destination.  There  we  preached 
in  the  evening  to  a  large  and  attentive  crowd  of  farmers  ;  and, 
when  the  main  body  had  dispersed,  a  number  of  the  older 
people  desired  a  further  talk  in  the  room  upstairs.  There  we 
discussed  our  tenets  until  a  very  late  hour,  told  them  of  our 
intention  to  open  a  station,  and  invited  them  to  throw  in 
their  lot  with  us.  Ultimately  some  of  them  did  so  ;  and  one 
man,  who  was  present,  a  builder  by  trade,  some  time  after- 
wards started  another  branch  church  in  his  village  three  miles 
further  in,  from  which  others  have  grown. 

The  leader  of  the  four  young  men,  who  had  received  a  fair 
education,  and  who  is  now  pastor  of  a  large  circuit,  was  away 
from  home,  having  gone  to  his  father-in-law's,  twelve  miles 
off,  in  Inner  Westbrook,  for  the  harvest.  Another  member  of 
the  family,  his  aunt,  a  lady  whom  I  have  since  learnt  to  highly 
esteem,  was  also  away  ten  miles  inland  in  the  same  direction. 
Knowing  nothing  at  that  time  of  the  paramount  importance 
of  harvest  time,  of  the  labour  involved,  and  of  the  weariness 
of  the  harvesters  at  night,  but  having  an  earnest  desire  to 
learn  something  of  this  district  for  evangelistic  purposes,  I 


112  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

set  off  inland  with  Chang  for  companion.  The  journey  was 
through  a  beautiful  valley,  which  gradually  narrowed  into  a 
forbidding  ravine,  the  only  way  out  of  which  was  by  a  pre- 
cipitous climb  of  a  thousand  feet  over  a  mountain  pass. 

At  last  we  reached  our  destination,  a  large  village  of  three 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  soon  discovered  the  paternal  home 
of  the  lady  from  Underbridge.  Here,  at  her  instigation,  we 
were  kindly  received,  and  having  announced  our  desire  to 
speak  to  the  people  in  the  evening,  soon  found  the  house  too 
small  for  the  crowd  which  assembled.  Some  one  kindly 
suggested  that  we  should  adjourn  to  an  adjoining  ancestral 
temple,  and  to  it  we  repaired  amidst  a  tumultuous  throng. 
This  temple  at  Kiie-yie  was  the  first  of  the  kind  I  had  ever 
been  in,  and  there  Chang  and  I  held  up  the  torch  of  truth 
to  the  best  of  our  ability. 

We  were  listened  to  with  attention,  and  one  man  later 
joined  the  church,  enduring  much  opposition  in  consequence. 
For  a  year  or  more  his  clansmen  roughly  turned  him  back  if 
they  found  him  going  to  service.  In  order  to  avoid  his  per- 
secutors, he  found  it  necessary  to  be  up  and  on  the  road  before 
daybreak  on  Sundays,  and  he  was  compelled  to  travel  great 
distances  in  varying  directions,  in  order  to  reach  a  place  of 
worship.  Nor  dared  he  go  to  the  same  meeting  two  Sundays 
together,  lest  he  should  be  caught  and  ill-treated  on  the  way. 

In  this  village  the  roughs  once  attempted  to  throw  my  wife 
into  the  stream,  on  which  occasion  our  safety  was  for  a  time 
seriously  imperilled.  Many  are  the  miles  that  I  have  wandered 
out  of  my  way  to  avoid  the  insults  and  threats  which  in  those 
days  ever  awaited  me  here.  For  years,  whenever  I  visited 
this  neighbourhood,  the  hills  echoed  and  re-echoed  with  the 
cry,  "  Kill  the  barbarian,"  "  Slaughter  the  foreign  thief," 
"  Beat  the  foreign  dog."  It  would  not  have  been  difficult  to 
have  had  some  of  these  ill-disposed  men  punished  by  the 
officials,  but  the  missionary  who  himself  cannot  bear  affront, 
must  find  it  hard  to  preach  forbearance  to  his  people,  and  he 
needs  constantly  to  bear  in  mind  the  words  of  his  Lord, 
"  What  do  ye  more  than  others  ?  " 

Morning  brought  with  it  heavy  rain  and  a  cold  wind,  so  our 
projected  visit  to  Plum  Torrent,  a  village  further  in,  seemed 
for  the  time  being  doomed.     With  much  reluctance  I  gave  the 


OUR  MISSION  BOAT 


TYPES  OF  CONVERTS  113 

word  for  our  homeward  march,  but  towards  afternoon  the 
rain  fell  less  persistently,  so  my  order  was  countermanded, 
and  we  set  off  along  the  wet,  slippery  roads,  uncertain  what 
sort  of  welcome  we  should  meet. 

In  due  course  we  reached  Plum  Torrent,  where  the  houses, 
built  one  above  another  on  the  steep  hill-side,  look  as  if  the 
front  door  of  one  opened  on  to  the  roof  of  the  next  below.  We 
were  wet,  cold,  and  miserable,  nor  did  our  reception  dry  our 
skins,  nor  charm  away  our  misery.  Long  did  we  sit  on  the 
dreary  verandah  before  that  simplest  of  Chinese  welcomes 
was  offered,  a  cup  of  tea,  made  as  the  Chinese  make  it.  And 
how  refreshing  it  was  when  it  did  come,  for  the  Chinese  make 
tea,  not  as  a  dye,  but  for  its  delicate  fragrance,  just  half  a 
dozen  leaves  in  the  bottom  of  the  cup — the  leaves  sun-dried, 
not  roasted  black  as  is  done  for  the  foreign  market — boiling 
water  poured  on,  and  the  saucer  put  upside  down,  inside  the 
top  of  the  cup,  to  make  it  "  draw."  The  tea  came  at  last,  but 
with  it  no  invitation  to  prolong  qiu:  stay,  and  dusk  was 
rapidly  drawing  on.  Everybody  was  occupied  with  the 
harvest,  and  apparently  had  no  interest  in  the  foreigner, 
which  was  somewhat  singular  as  no  foreigner  had  ever  set 
foot  in  this  neighbourhood  before. 

Things  were  looking  almost  as  cheerless  as  they  well  could 
look,  when  Mr  Chang  made  them  look  even  worse  by  com- 
mencing to  shiver  from  head  to  foot.  Soon  he  was  shaking  as 
if  palsied,  his  teeth  chattering  noisily  in  his  head,  and  his  face 
turning  yellow  as  parchment ;  the  sudden  change  in  weather 
had  induced  an  attack  of  ague.  About  this  time  the  Christian 
son-in-law  from  Underbridge  came  to  us  in  a  half-ashamed 
sort  of  fashion.  It  was  evident  from  his  manner,  that  his  own 
lapse  to  Christianity  had  not  raised  him  in  the  esteem  of  his 
relatives,  and  that  he  had  been  enduring  much.  By  his 
influence  Mr  Chang  was  taken  off  to  bed,  and  covered  up 
with  wadded  quilts.  I  was  invited  to  join  the  family  meal, 
and,  as  we  all  thawed  towards  each  other,  ventured  to  propose 
that,  during  the  evening,  I  should  be  allowed  to  explain  our 
teaching  to  the  villagers  in  the  ancestral  temple.  Some  of 
them  seemed  to  think  it  would  at  any  rate  be  a  diversion,  so 
by  and  by  we  set  out  for  the  temple  which  was  at  the 
foot  of  the  village. 
H 


114  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

Just  as  we  started,  out  came  Chang,  burning  with  fever, 
but  insistent  on  accompanying  us  to  the  preaching.  Not 
only  did  he  come,  but  took  part  also,  and  though  the  inclement 
weather  kept  away  all  but  a  score  or  two  of  people,  such  a 
good  time  had  we  that  within  a  few  weeks  we  were  able  to 
establish  an  embryo  church  there.  The  "  father-in-law," 
with  whom  we  were  staying,  a  gentle,  retiring  scholar,  who 
had  obtained  the  coveted  B.A.  degree,  was  present  at  our 
meeting,  as  also  was  his  elder  brother,  likewise  a  B.A.,  and  a 
man  of  greater  force  of  character.  On  our  return  to  the  house 
we  had  become  so  friendly,  that  these  two  and  their  friends 
plied  me  with  questions  till  midnight,  few  of  which  concerned 
the  message  I  was  specially  desirous  of  impressing  on  their 
minds.  Years  after  I  heard  the  elder  B.A.  publicly  tell 
of  his  conversion  : — 

"  When  I  heard  the  Gospel  preached  in  our  temple,"  he 
said,  "  I  was  convinced  of  its  truth,  but  not  yet  converted 
by  it.  On  reaching  home  I  kept  on  asking  Mr  Soo  all  sorts 
of  questions  on  general  topics,  but  he  invariably  worked 
them  round  to  Christianity,  which  at  that  time  I  was  wishful  to 
avoid.  Afterwards,  when  services  were  started  in  our  village, 
I  used  to  attend  them,  but,  though  by  this  time  thoroughly 
convinced  of  the  Truth  and  its  value,  I  carefully  avoided 
taking  off  my  hat  or  kneeling  with  the  rest,  but  wandered 
about  during  the  service,  ostentatiously  smoking  my  pipe. 
About  this  time,  the  Literary  Chancellor  was  due  to  arrive 
from  the  Provincial  Capital,  to  examine  the  students  for 
degrees,  and  as  there  would  be  thousands  of  scholars  in  the 
city  I  thought  I  would  go  down  and  see  some  of  my  old 
friends.  Mr  Soo  had  thrown  open  the  outbuildings  of  the 
City  church  for  the  use  of  certain  students,  and  I  found 
room  amongst  them. 

"  One  Wednesday  evening,  at  a  service  I  attended,  he 
took  as  his  text,  'Neither  do  men  light  a  candle  and  put  it 
under  a  bushel.'  He  described  a  variety  of  bushels,  such 
as  the  bushel  of  covetousness,  the  bushel  of  evil  desire,  and 
others,  but  it  was  the  bushel  of  pride  and  false  shame  that 
interested  me  most.  That  went  home  to  my  heart,  for  it 
was  the  pride  he  described  that  had  kept  my  hat  on  during 
this  very  service,  as  it  was  also  this  pride  that  had  kept  me 


TYPES  OF  CONVERTS  115 

seated  at  the  opening  prayer  when  everybody  knelt.  That 
night  Mr  Soo  took  the  bushel  off  my  lamp,  for  at  the  closing 
prayer  I  no  longer  resisted,  but  knelt  for  the  first  time  in 
my  Ufe  with  Christian  people." 

This  capable  scholar  soon  afterwards  wrote  a  treatise  on 
Christianity,  which  he  distributed  amongst  his  literary 
friends,  from  whom  for  a  long  period  he  had  to  endure  both 
ostracism  and  vituperation.  His  treatise,  and  other  books 
distributed  by  him,  helped  towards  the  enlightenment  of 
many  of  the  local  literati,  and  to-day  no  man  in  that  neigh- 
bourhood need  feel  shame  at  being  a  Christian.  For  a 
time  also,  he  went  out  as  a  local  preacher,  a  very  self-den5dng 
ordinance  indeed.  Unfortunately  his  vocal  gifts  did  not 
equal  those  of  his  mind,  for  his  voice  seldom  reached  beyond 
the  third  row  of  hearers  ;  hence,  when  the  supply  of  local 
preachers  had  overtaken  the  demand  in  his  neighbourhood, 
he  quietly  retired  from  the  trying  office. 

To  return  to  Mr  Chang,  however,  four  or  five  years  later 
his  zeal  resulted  in  an  illness,  which  ultimately  cost  him  his 
life.  He  had  been  visiting  the  newly  formed  churches  in 
Seechee,  evangelising  where  opportunity  presented,  and  was 
on  his  way  home.  Reaching  the  river  in  the  evening,  tired 
to  the  point  of  exhaustion,  he  found  no  boat  to  bring  him 
the  remaining  twenty  miles  to  the  city.  Presently,  seeing 
a  water-barge  crawling  its  tardy  way  citywards,  where  the 
drought  had  dried  up  the  wells,  he  begged  a  passage,  but  the 
only  place  the  boatman  could  give  him  was  the  narrow 
thwart  where  stands  the  mast.  A  tired  Chinaman  has  the 
knack  of  sleeping  anj^where  ;  on  a  six -inch  bench  ;  on  the 
parapet  of  a  bridge  :  or,  like  Jacob,  on  the  bare  ground,  with 
a  stone  for  a  pillow.  So  Chang  had  no  difficulty  in  falling 
asleep  on  this  thwart,  narrow  though  it  was.  Soon,  alas  ! 
the  boat  gave  a  jerk,  and  poor  Chang  awoke  to  find  himself 
head  over  ears  in  the  cargo  of  water. 

He  was,  of  course,  drenched  through  and  through,  so 
also  was  the  change  of  clothes  he  always  carried  in  the 
double-ended  purse-bag,  which  the  travelling  Chinaman 
slings  over  his  shoulder.  For  hours  he  had  no  choice  but 
to  sit  in  his  sodden  clothes,  facing  the  chilly  night  wind. 
Inflammation  of  the  lungs  followed,  consumption  supervened, 


ii6  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

and  though  he  lived  more  than  ten  years  longer,  he  was  never 
again  able,  despite  several  attempts,  to  go  about  doing  the 
work  he  loved. 

Nevertheless,  in  his  retirement,  and  until  within  a  few 
months  of  his  death,  he  remained  a  tower  of  strength  to  the 
work.  No  candidate  for  baptism  in  the  city  was  accepted 
without  his  recommendation,  many  disputes  that  might 
have  grown  to  troublesome  magnitude,  were  quietly  settled 
by  him,  and  many  a  dark  matter  was  elucidated  by  his  know- 
ledge and  judgment.  His  little  house  was  the  rendezvous 
of  all  who  needed  advice,  sympathy,  or  encouragement,  and 
though  humble  the  building,  and  unlettered  the  man,  even 
those  who  deemed  themselves  his  superiors  in  this  world, 
did  not  disdain  to  visit  him  and  seek  his  aid. 

Yet  his  enforced  retirement  was  a  great  loss  to  us,  for 
though  other  and  abler  preachers  arose,  his  was  the  devotion 
and  faithfulness  that  was  always  ready  for  the  laborious 
post  or  the  forlorn  hope.  "  Here  I  am,  send  me,"  describes 
the  man.  No  matter  what  the  difficulty,  or  how  distasteful 
the  task,  he  was  aye  ready.  When,  for  instance,  the  people 
of  Cragg  Head  attacked  our  newly  formed  church  there, 
destroyed  our  furniture,  and  beat  the  Christians,  leaving  one 
for  dead  on  the  spot,  and  when  there  was  none  who  dare 
go  to  gather  the  scattered  flock  together  again,  it  was  Chang 
who  came  forward,  and  said,  "  Let  me  go."  He  went,  and, 
by  his  fearlessness,  encouraged  the  handful  of  "  enquirers  " 
to  meet  again,  sa5nng,  "  Don't  fear  ;  whoever  hurts  you, 
must  first  lay  me  low."  Our  fine  work  in  Nanchee  owes  its 
existence  to  his  firmness,  amiability,  and  faith. 

Of  the  trading  classes  we  have  as  yet  not  very  many.  The 
Sabbath  is  one  of  their  initial  difficulties.  A  man  who  keeps 
a  shop,  especially  if  he  has  a  number  of  employees,  finds  it 
almost  impossible  to  make  his  business  pay,  if  he  keeps 
idle  for  a  seventh  of  its  time  a  staff,  which,  all  the  same,  has 
to  be  paid  and  fed.  Not  only  so,  but  whoever  closes  his 
shop  between  the  middle  of  the  Chinese  January  and  the 
middle  of  their  December  is  supposed  thereby  to  proclaim 
his  bankruptcy ;  he  has  "  put  up  his  shutters,"  and  his 
creditors  may  come  and  carry  off  his  goods.  Some  of  our 
Christian  tradesmen  risk  the  consequences  (which  are  more 


TYPES  OF  CONVERTS  117 

serious  in  theory  than  in  practice),  and  close  their  shops  on 
Sunday.  These  are  the  men  who,  in  the  coming  years,  will 
influence  the  trading  classes  of  Wenchow  in  this  direction, 
just  as  Mission  Colleges  in  China  have  already  influenced 
the  modern  native  schools  and  colleges  to  close  on  that  day, 
and  as  the  Consular  Service,  and  also  the  Maritime  Customs, 
controlled  by  Sir  Robert  Hart,  will  also,  by  their  example 
in  Sabbath  observance,  not  be  without  effect  on  the  official 
life  of  the  Empire. 

One  such  tradesman  resides  close  at  our  door.  He  is  the 
keeper  of  a  grain  shop,  which  is  faithfully  closed  on  the  Lord's 
Day.  When  Ah  Nyang  Pah  first  came  amongst  us,  it  was 
not  love  of  God,  but  fear  of  evil  spirits  that  brought  him. 
He  then  attracted  my  notice  chiefly  by  his  lack-lustre  eyes, 
and  his  own  and  his  family's  general  untidiness.  To-day, 
so  far  as  the  city  church  is  concerned,  he  takes  the  place 
of  Mr  Chang.  No  longer  unbearably  untidy,  and  with  faithful, 
bright,  dark-brown  eyes,  he  fills  the  office  of  Leader  circum- 
spectly and  well.  This  weak-looking  devil-scared  man  has 
become  fearless  and  determined  to  a  remarkable  degree. 
He  can  say  "  No  "  to  a  designing  person  most  effectively  ; 
he  is  the  best  collector  of  funds  we  have  ever  had  ;  his 
judgment  in  passing  candidates  for  baptism  is  reliable,  as 
also  is  his  discretion  in  the  various  difficulties  which  are 
of  so  frequent  occurrence  in  a  large  church.  With  his  own 
small  means  he  is  most  liberal,  and  the  amount  of  time  he 
gives  to  the  work  without  a  penny  of  remuneration  is  in- 
credible. Nevertheless  his  business  prospers,  and  he  is 
bringing  up  his  children  respectably,  in  the  "  fear  and  ad- 
monition of  the  Lord."  A  few  years  ago  his  twelve  year 
old  son,  a  boy  whose  temper  is  very  different  from  his  parent's, 
was  reported  to  have  beaten  his  father,  the  father  submitting 
rather  than  make  trouble.  Fortunately  the  matter  came  to 
our  head  schoolmaster's  ears,  and  roused  him  to  anger. 
"  What !  "  said  he,  "  been  beating  his  father  !  Why,  if 
he  is  allowed  to  do  that,  he  will  be  beating  his  schoolmaster 
next.  Fetch  him  along.  He  won't  come  ?  We'll  see  about 
that."  And  away  this  disciplinarian  went  in  person,  brought 
the  youth  by  his  tail  to  the  schoolroom,  and  there  put  a  speedy 
end  to  any  more  father-beating  I 


ii8  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

Others  of  the  trading  class  we  have,  but  few  see  their  way 
to  close  on  Sundays,  contenting  themselves  with  merely 
attending  the  services.  "  The  time  of  figs  is  not  yet."  Of 
the  thousands  of  shops  that  face  us  in  this  city,  scarcely  a 
percentage  is  closed  on  the  Sabbath,  and  it  is  to  be  feared 
that  the  majority  of  the  occupants  know  little  of  the  Christian 
Religion.  This  is  one  of  the  most  depressing  sides  of  our 
work,  and  seems  to  call  for  special  methods  of  treatment. 
Whether  there  be  any  such,  other  than  that  of  allowing  the 
truth  to  gradually  make  its  own  way,  has  not  yet  been  borne 
in  upon  us.     When  it  comes  we  shall  hail  it  with  joy. 

Of  the  official  classes  we  have  in  Wenchow,  scarcely  any 
who  are  Christians  ;  none  but  a  few  petty  military  officers. 
Civil  mandarins  are  barred  from  joining  us,  even  if  they  had 
the  wish,  by  the  idolatrous  observances  which  form  part  of 
their  official  duty.  This  class,  as  ever,  will  be  the  last 
to  be  freed  from  its  restrictions  and  to  participate  in  the 
privileges  of  the  Gospel.  The  Christian  Literature  Society  is 
doing  a  great  work  in  enlightening  them,  and  already  man- 
darins high  in  office  have  begun  to  take  an  interest  in  our 
Faith. 

Of  the  beggar  class  we  have  not  as  many  as  we  ought  to 
have.  There  are  a  few,  but  a  convert  does  not  long  care  to 
remain  a  beggar.  We  have  some,  the  old  and  the  blind,  whom 
we  cannot  yet  hope  to  see  entirely  freed  from  their  calling. 
Something  is  done  for  them,  for  our  people  are  kind  to  their 
poor,  but  in  China  there  are  practically  no  poor-houses  or 
almshouses  like  those  in  England.  In  every  city  there  is  a 
head  of  the  beggars,  who  has  some  sort  of  control  over  his 
fellows,  but  his  office  does  not  carry  with  it  power  to  provide 
for  them  anything  beyond  a  lodging  on  the  bare  ground. 
Poor  creatures  !  they  are  a  sad  sight,  the  maimed  dragging 
themselves  painfully  on  their  haunches,  the  blind  helplessly 
feeling  their  tardy  way  with  a  long  bamboo,  or  stumbling  along 
the  road  in  a  string  of  half  a  dozen,  the  palsied  shaking  their 
miserable  bodies  and  making  distressing  grimaces  as  they  beg 
an  alms  from  the  passer-by,  the  leprous  exposing  their  pitiful 
sores,  the  widows  pointing  to  their  infant  children,  the 
imbecile  gibbering  and  pointing  to  his  mouth,  and  the  sturdy 
beggar  shouting  his  demands  for  cash  to  the  unheeding  shop- 


TYPES  OF  CONVERTS  119 

keeper.  What  can  we  do  for  them  ?  Yet,  even  Christ  did  not 
heal  all  the  diseased  in  Judea,  nor  feed  all  the  hungry.  He 
brought  a  power  that  would  ultimately  do  so,  and  this  power 
we,  too,  are  bringing  to  this  land. 

A  beggar  was  the  means  of  initiating  our  work  in  Kuchee. 
To  save  our  credit  we  set  him  up  later  in  a  small  trade,  but 
though  the  church  there  flourishes,  his  violent  temper  long 
ago  drove  him  to  the  devil.  Another  beggar,  an  old  man,  in 
the  same  district,  always  brings  his  mite  to  the  Communion 
Service.  He,  like  many  other  country  mendicants,  only  begs 
during  half  the  year,  cultivating  his  potatoes  during  the  rest 
of  the  time.  The  mother-in-law  of  our  best  Biblewoman,  a 
devoted  little  worker,  was  a  beggar,  but  soon  after  the  family 
joined  us  the  son,  an  unobtrusive  fellow,  obtained  work  at  a 
silk-spinner's,  and  induced  his  old  mother  to  give  up  the 
"  profession." 

In  this  chapter,  then,  there  have  been  introduced  members 
of  the  four  classes  into  which  the  Chinese  divide  their  Society, 
gentry,  farmers,  artizans,  and  traders.  Even  the  unclassed 
beggar  has  not  been  overlooked.  With  thousands  of  Chris- 
tians to  choose  from,  it  is  a  temptation  to  unduly  prolong  this 
description,  but  the  time  has  come  for  it  to  be  brought  to  a 
close.  We  refrain  from  telling  the  story  of  Mr  Dzang,  the 
ex-treasurer  of  the  General's  Yamen,  who,  before  becoming 
a  Christian,  smashed  to  pieces  some  of  the  gods  in  a  public 
shrine  ;  they  had  told  him  his  sick  son  would  get  better,  and 
had  the  audacity  to  repeat  their  prophecy  when  he  went,  with 
black  anger  in  his  heart,  after  his  son  had  died.  We  refrain 
from  giving  the  story  of  another  Mr  Dzang,  whose  village  lies 
within  sight  at  my  feet,  whose  name,  and  his  father's  before 
him,  was  the  best  known  for  integrity  and  uprightness  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  river,  and  who  is  just  recovering,  in  our 
hospital,  from  a  serious  operation  cheerfully  undergone.  Or, 
of  the  naval  petty  officer,  who  had  been  a  vegetarian  and 
devotee  of  the  goddess  of  mercy  for  twenty  years,  and  who, 
after  becoming  a  Christian,  one  dark  night,  fell  from  his  ship 
into  the  swift  river,  and,  just  before  sinking  for  the  last  time, 
had  his  prayer  answered  by  being  picked  up  by  a  passing  boat. 
Or,  of  Mr  Shao,  B.A.,  the  wealthiest  man  in  his  neighbourhood, 
who  was  the  first  Christian  in  his  village,  and  who  has  just 


120  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

given  a  liberal  contribution  to  a  new  church.  Or,  of  my 
writer,  whose  father,  the  ablest  doctor  and  scholar  in  his 
village,  and  for  miles  around,  threatened  his  son  with  death 
if  he  became  a  Christian,  and  who  had  to  await  his  father's 
death  before  daring  to  join  us.  Or,  of  the  many  others,  the 
life  story  of  each  of  whom  would  fill  a  chapter  ;  men  who  have 
proved  their  faith  by  their  sufferings,  who  have  been  tortured 
"  not  accepting  deliverance,"  who  have  "  had  trial  of  cruel 
mockings  and  scourgings,  yea,  moreover,  of  bonds  and  im- 
prisonments "  ;  who  have  been  "  stoned,  tempted,  slain  with 
the  sword,"  "  of  whom  their  world  was  not  worthy,"  but  who 
have  a  share  in  the  "  better  thing  "  which  God  has  provided 
for  them  and  for  us. 


VIII 
NATIVE  SERMONS 

"  The  foolishness  of  preaching." 

It  has  been  said  that  Christianity  exists  in  spite  of  its  pulpits  ; 
indeed  certain  of  the  cynical  are  prepared  to  advance  this  as 
one  of  the  stoutest  "  evidences  of  Christianity  !  "  Never- 
theless, Christianity  is  so  intertwined  with  its  pulpit  that, 
apart  therefrom,  it  either  ceases  to  exist,  or,  if  existent,  is 
paralysed  and  moribund.  Without  it  Christianity  would 
never  have  been  propagated  ;  for,  whether  the  pulpit  be  of 
costly,  many-coloured  marbles,  erected  in  some  gorgeous  fane, 
or  whether  it  be  an  old  Chinese  dinner-table,  many-coloured 
with  much  and  varied  use,  and  set  up  under  roof  of  thatch  or 
glorious  canopy  of  heaven,  everywhere,  in  every  clime,  it  is 
and  always  has  been  a  "  power  of  God  for  salvation."  There- 
fore let  no  man  slight  the  Christian  pulpit,  for  by  so  doing  he 
ungratefully  slights  the  instrument  with  which  the  Church  has 
dug  him,  and  all  his  privileges  out  of  the  adamantine  rock  of 
paganism,  barbarism,  and  vice. 

In  China,  apart  from  the  newly  instituted  pulpit,  no  public 
speaking  exists.  Hitherto  there  has  been  no  scope  for 
rhetoric  or  the  orator.  It  is  true  there  are  actors  and  story- 
tellers who  have  their  own  special  field  of  loquacity  ;  but 
followers  of  those  professions  hardly  come  under  the  category 
of  public  speakers.  Until  the  pulpit  was  set  up,  there  was  in 
China  no  such  thing  as  a  formal  speech,  a  lecture,  or  a  sermon. 
There  is  no  House  of  Parliament,  no  political  meeting,  no  desk 
save  that  of  the  pedagogue,  no  "bar"  before  which  to  practise, 
no  rostrum  but  that  erected  in  the  street  for  the  blind  minstrel 
or  story-teller  ;  yet  the  Chinaman  is  a  born  speaker,  being  by 
nature  even  better  endowed  with  the  orator's  gift  than  his 
English  cousin.     Moreover,  his  flowing  robe  and  his  fan, — 


122  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

especially  the  fan — are  distinct  adjuncts  to  his  powers  of 
expression.  No  Englishman,  even  in  flowing  skirts,  can  use  a 
fan  in  his  public  addresses  with  the  grace  and  effect  that  is 
possible  to  the  native,  any  more  than  he  can  hide  his  foreign 
features  beneath  a  Chinese  skuU  cap,  or  his  European  stride 
behind  a  native  petticoat.  For  ages,  then,  this  disturbing 
gift  of  oratory  has  lain  dormant ;  Christianity  is  now  arousing 
it,  for  some  evil  and  for  much  good,  but  Ormuzd  will  over- 
come Ahriman  in  this  as  in  other  branches  of  experience. 

Just  think  of  a  vast  nation  that  until  modern  times  has 
never  heard  a  sermon  in  the  whole  course  of  its  history  ;  that 
has  existed,  developed  and  to  a  certain  extent  thriven  through 
long  ages  without  discourses,  lectures,  or  public  speeches  !  A 
gentleman  at  home  once  asked  me  what  I  considered  to  be  the 
cause  of  the  arrested  development  of  this  people.  May  it  not 
largely  be  due  to  the  absence  of  these  goads  to  advancement  ? 

The  earliest  native  sermons  that  I  listened  to  with  under- 
standing, was  delivered  by  the  half-paralysed  native  preacher 
who  accompanied  me  on  my  first  evangelistic  trip.  I  heard 
that  sermon  many  times  afterwards,  fitted  by  him  to  quite  a 
variety  of  texts,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  frequent  repeti- 
tion, whatever  somnolent  effect  it  may  have  had  on  others, 
was  not  without  influence  in  advancing  my  own  acquisition  of 
the  language. 

One  of  the  strong  points  of  this  sermon  was  the  appeal  to  his 
own  paralysis,  which  he  had  owned,  or  which  had  owned  him, 
from  his  birth.  Without  this  affliction  what  would  his  life 
and  sermons  have  been  !  He  seemed  to  revel  in  it,  it  was  his 
sole  patrimony,  his  real  and  personal  estate,  and  when  he 
reached  that  part  of  the  address  in  which  his  paralysis  was 
introduced,  his  eyes  fairly  gleamed  and  goggled  with  pride  and 
gratification.  Many  are  the  texts  he  has  made  luminous  with 
his  poor,  useless  side,  so  that  to  shower  pity  on  him  were  a 
shameful  waste,  unless,  indeed,  it  took  the  form  of  a  dollar  or 
two  to  ease  him  of  his  small  debts,  when  they  had  ceased  to  be 
a  comfort  to  him. 

One  of  the  principal  illustrations  he  drew  from  his  affliction 
was  something  like  this  :  "  They  say  that  the  foreigners  are 
plotting  against  the  Son  of  Heaven  (the  Emperor),  and  aiming 
to  seize  our  country  !     Just  look  at  me,  now  look  at  me,  and 


NATIVE  SERMONS  123 

you  will  see  the  folly  of  these  rumours.  If  the  foreigners  had 
any  such  idea,  would  they  not  be  scouring  the  country  in 
search  of  the  lusty  and  the  strong,  instead  of  such  useless 
creatures  as  myself  ?  Of  what  possible  good  can  half  a  man 
hke  me  be  to  them  ?  Could  I  tight  with  a  hand  like  this  ? 
Could  I  run  with  a  leg  like  this  ?  Look  at  me,  and  ask  your- 
selves whether  the  foreigners,  if  they  had  such  an  intention, 
would  not  be  fools  to  employ  cripples  like  me,  or  blind  men 
like  Tsang-pah  there,  or  old  fellows  like  Sang-pah,  or  these 
feeble  old  women  over  here ;  "  and  so  on.  Poor  old  Tsiu  ! 
He  still  preaches  in  the  hospital  occasionally,  where  the 
audience  is  too  fluctuating  to  become  weary  of  his  repetitions, 
though  one  wonders  at  times  whether  it  is  wise  to  keep  such 
an  incurable  as  a  hospital  signboard.  At  least  he  is  an  indica- 
tion of  what  the  hospital  cannot  do  ! 

We  have  grown  since  the  days  of  Mr  Tsiu,  and  now  there 
is  much  variety  of  style,  and  sometimes  even  considerable 
ability  shown  by  our  native  preachers.  One  favourite  method 
is  the  allegorical.  A  subject  is  taken,  and  the  detail  of  the 
text  descanted  upon,  even  strained,  sometimes  well-nigh  to 
breaking-point.  The  following  is  an  instance  of  this  alle- 
gorical style. 

The  preacher  is  a  master  bricklayer,  to  whose  honesty  our 
Mission  owes  a  great  debt  of  gratitude,  though  he  always 
looked  on  himself  as  the  debtor,  because  of  the  eternal  life  it 
had  brought  to  hirn,  and  which  he  has  just  gone  more  fully  to 
enjoy.  His  sermon  is  on  the  turning  of  water  into  wine,  and 
his  text  the  second  chapter  of  St  John's  Gospel.  The  marriage, 
of  course,  typifies  the  "  Marriage  of  the  Lamb,"  the  Bride  is 
the  Church,  the  Bridegroom  the  Lord  our  Saviour.  The  lack 
of  wine  is  a  lack  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  consequent  lack  of  joy. 
Filial  piety  and  obedience  are  taught  by  our  Lord's  obedience 
to  His  mother's  wishes  ;  poor  man,  this  was  a  tender  point 
with  him,  for  his  own  son  was  a  wild  and  wicked  scapegrace, 
who  "  brought  down  his  gray  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the 
grave." 

"  And  there  were  set  six  waterpots  of  stone,  after  the 
manner  of  the  purifying  of  the  Jews,  containing  two  or  three 
firkins  apiece."  "  What  means  the  water  here  ?  Does  any 
of  you  know  ?  "  he  asks.  "  The  Holy  Spirit,"  cries  one.   "  No  1 


124  A  MISS/ON  IN  CHINA 

The  wine  stands  for  that,  as  I  have  already  told  you,"  is  the 
reply.  "  Baptism,"  says  another.  "  The  Lord's  Supper," 
cries  a  third.  Finally,  some  thoughtful  man  or  woman 
gratifies  the  old  preacher  by  answering,  "  The  Doctrine." 
"  To  be  sure,"  is  his  comment.  "  And  what  did  they  use  the 
water  for  ?  Does  none  of  you  know  ?  Why  !  for  purifying 
purposes.  They  seem  to  have  been  a  good  deal  cleaner  than 
we  Chinese  are.  Six  waterpots  holding  two  or  three  buckets 
apiece,  that's  a  good  lot  more  than  any  one  hereabouts  uses 
for  cleansing  purposes,  unless  it  be  the  foreigners  who  wash 
themselves  all  over  once  or  twice  a  day  !  And  so  it  is  with  the 
truth  of  God  ;  it  is  given  to  us  for  our  inward  cleansing,  and, 
until  it  came,  we  were  filthy  and  impure." 

"  But  what  about  the  six  waterpots  ?  How  is  it  there  are 
six,  and  not  five  or  four,  eight  or  ten  ?  Can  any  of  you  tell 
me  ?  "  No  answer  comes,  though  the  audience  is  evidently 
busy  scratching  its  head.  "  Surely,  the  six  means  the  six 
days  of  the  week,  "  he  tells  them  at  last,"  the  six  working  days. 
You  all  as  a  matter  of  course  try  to  purify  yourselves  on 
Sundays,  but  what  about  the  six  days  of  the  week  ?  What 
about  the  six  days  ?  Here  you  are  taught  that  you  are  not 
only  to  be  clean  on  Sunday,  but  on  the  other  six  days  also. 
You  are  not  only  to  pray  and  sing  and  read  your  Bibles  on 
Sundays,  but  every  day  of  the  week,  and,  just  as  it  says  here, 
two  or  three  bucketsful,  so  you  must  get  your  two  or  three 
bucketsful  every  day,  morning,  noon,  and  night." 

In  like  manner  he  shows  them  that  though  Christians  must 
obey  the  Lord's  command,  and  fill  themselves  with  the 
doctrine,  the  Water  of  Life,  yet  they  may  fill,  and  fill  in  vain, 
unless  they  look  to  Him  for  the  "  Word  "  which  changes  the 
water,  the  knowledge,  into  wine,  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Nay,  unless  He  has  changed  the  water  into  wine  we 
may  "  draw,"  and  draw  as  long  as  we  like,  but  no  one  will  be 
the  gladder  for  it.  When,  however,  He,  who  alone  possesses 
this  power,  has  turned  the  water  into  the  wine  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  we  may  draw  and  bear  it  to  the  guests,  in  full  confidence 
that  they  will  say  the  best  has  been  kept  till  last. 

It  is  many  years  since  I  neard  this  sermon,  one  evening  in 
our  little  meeting-room.  No  note  other  than  mental  was 
made  of  it,  but  the  above  is  the  gist  of  what  he  said,  and, 


NATIVE  SERMONS  125 

needless  to  say,  close  attention  was  paid  to  good  old  "  Ah  Yao 
Pah  "  by  his  audience. 

Another  sermon,  elaborated  from  one  of  my  own,  travelled 
a  long  way.  It  was  on  the  Lamp,  which  was  likened  to  the 
Christian.  Some  lamps  are  very  beautiful  outside,  yet  give 
but  a  poor  light  ;  just  as  some  Christians  are  well-to-do,  well- 
educated  and  externally  prepossessing,  yet  shew  little  Cliris- 
tian  light  in  their  homes  and  surroundings.  Others,  there  are 
with  no  beauty  of  exterior,  but  their  light  is  so  bright  that  all 
rejoice  in  it.  The  oil  is  the  Gospel ;  the  double  wick  is  our 
heartfelt  love  to  God,  and  to  our  fellow-men  ;  the  light  that 
lights  it,  is  God's  Holy  Spirit ;  the  chimney  that  draws  the 
flame  to  brightness  is  prayer  ;  the  lamp-shade  is  wisdom  and 
discretion,  for  as  a  bare  light  hurts  the  eye,  so  indiscretion  in 
the  believer  may  hinder  a  man's  acceptance  of  the  Light  of  the 
Gospel ;  the  light  of  the  lamp  is,  of  course,  the  life  and  conduct 
of  the  Christian..  Other  details  are  added  by  one  and  another, 
as,  for  instance,  that  Christianity,  like  the  oH  (generally  known 
as  "  foreign  oil  "),  is  brought  from  far  away  beyond  the  seas  ; 
that  the  heart  like  the  lamp  needs  daily  cleansing  and  refilling  ; 
that  the  extinguisher  means  death,  which  may  come  suddenly 
or  slowly,  but  which  teaches  us  to  let  our  light  shine  while  we 
may  ;  and  so  on. 

A  couple  of  centuries  ago,  before  we  as  a  nation  had  become 
as  refined  as  at  present,  the  English  pulpit  indulged  in  a 
breadth  of  expression  that  to-day  would  not  be  tolerated. 
The  pulpit  in  China  is  now  in  that  mediaeval  state,  for  while 
there  are  subjects  on  which  a  preacher  must  speak  guardedly, 
yet  there  is  occasionally,  still  sufficient  latitude  to  shock  an 
English  audience.  For  instance — no,  after  all,  that  shall  be 
omitted.  But  I  remember  once  hearing  a  silversmith,  a  local 
preacher,  describe  most  graphically  the  meaning  of  true  re- 
pentance. He  said,  "  It  is  just  like  a  man  who  has  been  to  a 
feast."  He  has  had  a  real  high  time,  and  eaten  liberally  of 
every  dish — of  which  the  preacher  gave  such  an  appetising 
description,  that  you  could  almost  see  his  audience  stretching 
out  their  hands  for  the  chopsticks.  He  has  also  indulged 
freely  in  rice  wine,  and  now  wends  his  way  homewards  with 
shining  face  and  swaggering  gait.  Alas  !  penitence  deep, 
violent,  and  movingly  described  o'ertakes  him,  and — repent- 


126  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

ance  was  most  realistically  depicted.  The  preacher  had  even 
worse  to  follow,  when  following  the  precedent  of  King  Solomon 
and  St  Peter,  he  so  vividly  portrayed  backsliding  that  his 
audience  groaned  with  him  in  disgust !  Repentance  and 
backsliding  were,  at  any  rate,  painted  in  effective  colours, 
which  made  a  more  vivid  impression  on  his  congregation  than 
the  toneless  pigments  of  "  proper  "  souls  could  have  produced. 

Of  a  much  higher  order  was  a  sermon  I  heard  a  few  weeks 
ago,  delivered  by  Mr  Tsih,  B.A.,  to  a  mixed  audience  of 
believers  and  unbelievers.  He  was  unveiling  the  folly  of 
idolatry,  and  calling  upon  his  hearers  neither  to  worship  nor 
to  fear  these  gods  of  wood  and  clay.  After  urging  them,  in 
telling  tones,  that  their  gods  were  deaf,  blind,  dead,  he  turned 
on  his  audience  and  said,  "  But  you  don't  believe  me,  eh  ? 
Very  good,  then,  let  me  tell  you  something  you  will  perhaps  be 
ready  to  believe."  Rising  into  the  prophetic  vein,  the  first 
time  I  have  ever  seen  it  in  a  Chinese,  and  stretching  his  tall 
frame,  he  began  in  graphic  manner  : — 

"  I  was  standing  on  a  certain  hill,  a  great  hill,  all  of  clay,  of 
yellow  clay.  As  I  stood  there,  wondering  at  this  vast  moun- 
tain of  clay,  I  was  amazed  to  notice  far  away  up  towards  its 
summit,  a  lump  begin  to  bulge  out  and  to  swell.  As  I  watched, 
it  grew  and  grew,  until  I  was  impelled  to  approach  nearer  in 
order  to  see  this  wondrous  sight.  Of  itself  it  rose  higher  and 
higher,  until  from  each  side  projections  began  to  stretch  out- 
wards, and  by  and  by  a  sphere  arose  on  the  very  top,  and 
soon  afterwards  the  lowermost  portion  divided  in  twain. 
Then  as  I  stood  there,  all  in  amaze,  the  thing  which  the  moun- 
tain of  clay  conceived  and  brought  forth  took  human  form, 
and  I  saw  that  the  parts  divided  in  twain  became  legs,  and  the 
two  outstretching  pieces  became  arms,  and  the  sphere  above 
took  shape  as  a  head,  and  lo  !  the  mountain  of  clay  had 
begotten  a  god — the  mountain  had  of  itself  begotten  a  god  !  " 

He  looked  into  the  faces  of  his  puzzled  hearers  as  if  search- 
ing them,  then  added,  "  And  you  still  don't  believe  me  ? 
What  then  can  I  tell  you  that  you  will  believe  ?  I  tell  you 
that  your  clay  gods  are  dead,  and  you  don't  believe.  I  tell 
you  that  they  are  alive  and  can  reproduce  their  species,  and 
you  won't  believe.  What  can  I  tell  you  that  you  will  be- 
lieve ?  "     From  this  he  went  on  to  tell  them  of  the  God,  who 


NATIVE  SERMONS  127 

is  not  clay  but  Spirit,  from  whom  all  the  souls  of  men  have 
had  their  being. 

A  few  days  after,  at  an  open  meeting,  in  connection  with  a 
Scripture  class  for  local  preachers  which  I  was  holding,  he  was 
called  upon  for  a  short  impromptu  address.  Taking  up  the 
chief  idea  which  had  run  through  the  addresses  of  the  preced- 
ing speakers,  he  proceeded  dramatically  to  describe  the 
attitude  of  God  towards  those  who  seek  His  forgiveness.  The 
text  was,  "  If  ye  forgive  not  men  their  trespasses,  neither  will 
your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  forgive  your  trespasses." 

"  There  you  kneel,"  said  he,  "  before  the  throne  of  God, 
pleading  for  the  forgiveness  of  your  multitudinous  sins.  See, 
the  Father  pities  you  !  He  is  on  the  point  of  blotting  out 
your  transgressions  !  He  is  deciding  to  expunge  all  your  vast 
debt !  Behold  !  He  opens  the  book  before  Him  ;  He  takes 
up  His  kingly  plume  ;  He  waves  it  in  the  air  ;  a  moment  more 
and  all  your  debt  will  be  cancelled.  But — Wait  a  moment. 
He  says,  what  is  that  little  matter  this  penitent  had  against 
So-and-So  ?  Has  he  forgiven  him  yet  ?  If  not,  is  he  willing 
to  do  it  now  ?  Are  you  willing  ?  He  demands  of  you.  Will 
you  forgive  that  man  the  trifling  thing  you  have  against  him  ? 
No,  Lord,  I  can't ;  I  want  you  to  forgive  me,  but  I  cannot  let 
him  off.  Down  goes  the  vermilion  pencil,  and  your  debt 
remains.  The  Lord  says,  We  will  see  what  sort  of  a  man  this 
is  who  seeks  our  compassion.  He  sees  that  you  want  all  and 
wiU  give  nothing.  Away  with  you  !  Away  with  you  !  If 
ye  forgive  not  men  their  trespasses,  neither  will  your  Father 
forgive  your  trespasses."  The  dramatic  energy  of  Mr  Tsih 
always  keeps  his  audiences  expectant,  no  yawning  chasms  in 
the  faces  of  the  people  ever  front  him,  nor  any  eyes  closed  in 
deepest  thought,  save  his  own,  which  sometimes  he  keeps 
closed  through  most  of  his  discourse. 

Last  Sunday,  in  our  City  church,  the  preacher  made  quite 
a  sensation  in  the  middle  of  his  sermon,  by  introducing  a  much 
battered  idol  to  his  audience,  an  introduction  that  caused  a 
ripple  of  laughter  to  run  through  the  building.  He  told  them 
that  Mr  Sharman  had  requested  him  to  find  an  idol  to  be 
sent  home  in  a  box  of  curios  the  Committee  has  asked  for  ; 
that  he  had  searched  in  Christian  homes  throughout  the 
whole  of  his  circuit  of  twenty  churches  for  a  specimen  to 


128  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

give  to  Mr  Sharman,  and  this  battered  idol  was  the  only  one 
he  had  been  able  to  find.  He  further  explained  the  reason  of 
its  being  in  such  bad  condition — the  children  of  the  family  had 
been  allowed  to  use  it  as  a  plaything  ! 

A  few  weeks  ago,  a  local  preacher,  at  an  evening  meeting  in 
connection  with  our  Scripture  class,  gave  one  of  the  best 
sermons  there  delivered.  His  subject  was,  "  Except  ye  be 
converted  and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter 
into  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven."  Although  he  had  only  been  a 
preacher  for  a  few  months,  he  shewed  a  deep  insight  into  the 
teaching  of  his  text.  Amongst  other  things  he  pointed  out 
that  just  as  a  child,  barricaded  in  by  its  mother,  will,  if  at  all 
possible,  find  a  way  to  creep  out,  so  in  like  manner  it  ignores 
human  barriers  and  distinctions,  and  will  as  readily  approach 
a  man  in  poor  raiment  as  a  man  well-dressed,  an  unread  man 
as  a  learned  man.  So  with  the  Christian  who  has  the  child- 
heart  ;  human  conventions,  when  barring  from  God's  liberty, 
are  barriers  to  be  broken  down.  There  were  many  other 
good  points  in  his  address,  which  I  regret  not  to  have  noted. 
His  sermon,  however,  coupled  with  his  good  character  and 
business  intelligence,  have  decided. his  fate,  and  he  is  now 
invited  to  become  an  evangelist. 

The  New  Testament  is  our  preachers'  text-book.  Practically 
all  of  them  possess  a  copy  of  the  Old,  which  is  kept  for  refer- 
ence, as  its  bulk  renders  it  inconvenient  for  carrying  about ; 
moreover  very  few  of  the  people  are  sufficiently  advanced  to 
read  and  understand  it,  but  let  not  the  reader  infer  that  our 
preachers  and  people  are  altogether  ignorant  of  it  and  its 
teaching.  There  are  so  many  allusions  to  it  in  the  New 
Testament,  that  the  preachers  find  frequent  opportunity  for 
illustrating  their  sermons  from  its  incidents  £ind  precepts. 
Both  preachers  and  people  very  much  appreciate  its  stories, 
with  most  of  which  they  are  fairly  well  acquainted.  I  re- 
member once  a  sense  of  embarrassment  coming  over  me,  as 
one  of  our  preachers  catechised  his  flock  on  the  plagues  of 
Egypt,  and  gradually  approached  me.  To  my  relief  the 
plagues  were  ended  before  they  reached  the  place  where  I  was 
sitting. 

After  prayers  the  other  morning,  a  question  was  put  to  me 
by  a  local  preacher  in  regard  to  Moses  and  Elias  at  Our 


u 
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P 

u 

< 
H 

U 


NATIVE  SERMONS  129 

Lord's  Transfiguration  :  "  How  did  the  disciples  recognise 
them  to  be  Moses  and  Ehas  ?  "  he  asked.  I,  too,  will  ask  my 
reader  what  answer  he  would  have  given. 

Sermon  preparation  naturally  comes  much  more  easily  to 
some  than  to  others.  There  are  men  with  the  gift  of  extract- 
ing gold  from  what  to  others  is  a  common  stone.  So  is  it 
with  some  of  our  preachers  ;  even  amongst  the  uneducated 
there  are  those  who  have  the  spiritual  intuition.  Most  of  our 
pastors,  however,  and  a  number  of  the  local  preachers  have 
had  a  fair  education,  and  having  been  brought  up  on  the 
"  Essay "  system,  which  until  lately  formed  the  principal 
subject  at  the  national  examinations,  know  something  of  the 
value  of  homiletics,  and  soon  learn  to  analyse  a  subject  and 
divide  a  text.  Hence  in  this,  as  well  as  in  other  ways,  the 
Confucian  School  has  been  making  straight  the  path  of  the 
Christian  preacher. 

Our  late  native  pastor,  Mr  "  Summer,"  was  a  preacher  of 
more  than  average  intellectual  ability,  and  of  much  insight. 
He  once  preached  a  very  fine  sermon  on,  "  Think  not  that  I 
am  come  to  destroy  the  law  and  the  prophets  :  I  am  not  come 
to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil."  His  object  was  to  show  that  the 
religions  of  China  had  been  preparing,  even  though  imperfectly, 
the  way  of  the  Lord,  who  came  not  to  destroy  Confucius,  or 
Laocius,  or  Buddha,  but  to  perfect  their  imperfections  and 
complete  their  incompleteness.  He  preached  also  a  powerful 
sermon  on,  "  Woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the  Gospel."  This 
sermon  he  later  embodied  in  a  tract,  which  he  published  at 
his  own  expense,  and  distributed  among  his  friends  as  a  sort  of 
"  Apologia."  It  was,  alas  !  the  last  piece  of  writing  he  was 
ever  permitted  to  publish. 

Our  preachers  also  lay  hold  of  the  topics  of  the  times  for 
their  addresses.  Arriving  late  at  a  country  station  one 
Sunday,  after  travelling  all  night  in  inclement  weather,  I 
found  a  local  preacher  on  his  feet  addressing  the  congregation. 
There  had  been  recent  trouble  over  salt  smuggling,  as  the 
salt  taotai  had  withdrawn  the  privilege  of  the  harvesters  to 
each  bring  home  from  the  coast,  free  of  duty,  a  shoulder  load 
of  that  precious  commodity,  in  lieu  of  wages.  The  whole 
district  was  in  a  ferment,  and  there  was  fear  of  our  people 
involving  themselves  in  the  general  trouble.  This  young 
I 


I30  A  Alls  S ION  IN  CHINA 

preacher  had  to-day  taken  as  his  text  the  words  of  our  Lord, 
"  Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  to  God 
the  things  that  are  God's,"  and  was  treating  the  subject  in  a 
very  Christian  and  therefore  pacifying  spirit.  I  almost  re- 
gretted having  arrived  so  soon,  but  found  opportunity  of 
supporting  and  supplementing  his  remarks. 

While  writing  this  chapter  a  pastor,  who  never  had  advan- 
tages of  education,  but  who  proved  his  faithfulness  a  few  years 
ago  by  suffering  nearly  unto  death,  and  who  has  since  proved 
his  intelligence  by  capable  administration  of  the  affairs  of  a 
difficult  circuit,  has  sent  me,  romanised,  the  gist  of  a  sermon 
he  recently  delivered.  It  is  the  first  of  the  kind  I  have  ever 
received,  and  after  revision  it  will  appear  in  our  newly 
established  local  romanised  monthly.  His  text  is  St  Matt, 
vii.  13,  "  Strait  is  the  gate,  and  narrow  is  the  way,  which 
Jeadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it."  Speaking  of 
the  bottomless  pit,  a  subject  on  which  he  harbours  no  doubts, 
he  says : — 

"  The  place  of  destruction  knows  only  death  and  not  life, 
only  entrance  without  exit,  only  darkness  without  light,  and 
is  a  place  of  great  distress.  Who  are  they  that  go  to  this  place 
of  sorrow  ?  AU  who  on  earth  live  evil  lives,  thieves,  adul- 
terers, idolaters,  the  covetous  and  the  unrepentant ;  these 
when  they  die  must  go  to  this  place  of  destruction.  You  will 
not  believe  this  bare  statement,  so  let  me  give  an  illustration 
to  show  whether  this  is  a  fact  or  not.  If  I  am  wrong,  I  beg 
you,  respected  fathers  and  brethren,  to  point  out  the  error  to 
me,  your  younger  brother. 

"  While  stationed  at  Rainbow  Bridge,  in  the  Clear  Music 
Circuit,  last  year,  I  went  in  the  eleventh  month  to  the  church 
at  Terrace  Hill.  The  trees  on  the  mountain  side  are  very 
numerous  and  large,  and  many  monkeys  dwell  in  them. 
During  my  visit,  I  there  met  five  Hupeh  men,  who  made  their 
living  by  hunting  wild  animals.  On  hearing  that  there  are 
many  monkeys  on  this  mountain,  they  were  very  desirous  of 
catching  them.  But  monkeys  are  the  cleverest  of  all  wild 
animals,  and  exceedingly  difficult  to  capture ;  hence  they 
had  to  use  their  best  skill  in  laying  a  snare  for  them. 

"  To  this  end  they  made  five  large  traps  and  covered  them 
with  branches.     Then  they  brought  things  that  monkeys  like 


NATIVE  SERMONS  131 

to  eat,  and  scattered  them  round  about  for  a  distance,  but 
always  towards  the  pit.  Over  the  traps  they  put  a  larger 
supply.  Now,  monkeys  are  greedy  creatures,  so,  seeing  good 
things  to  eat  strewn  in  their  path,  they  were  naturally  delighted, 
and  forthwith  commenced  to  feed.  Nevertheless,  while  they 
ate,  they  were  very  wary,  lest  they  should  be  caught  and 
killed.  For  some  days  they  came  along  this  way  eating,  and 
conceived  a  great  liking  for  the  food  that  was  scattered  for 
them. 

"  By  and  by  they  followed  up  the  food  as  far  as  the  place 
where  the  five  traps  were  buried,  and,  seeing  a  fine  supply  of 
good  things,  pounced  greedily  upon  the  food  laid  on  the 
branches  which  covered  the  pit,  expecting  to  fill  themselves 
with  the  good  things.  Instead  of  that,  the  branches  gave 
way,  and  the  animals  fell  into  the  traps.  The  monkey- 
catchers,  lying  in  ambush  near,  on  hearing  the  monkeys  fall, 
at  once  came  out,  caught  the  prisoners,  killed  them,  skinned 
them,  ate  their  flesh,  made  glue  of  their  bones,  and  a  profit 
out  of  their  destruction. 

"  Fathers  and  elder  brethren  !  I  beg  you  not  to  look  lightly 
on  this  story.  Unless  one  be  wary  here  on  earth,  it  is  easy  to 
be  led  by  men  into  their  traps,  and,  so  to  speak,  to  be  skinned 
by  them  even  as  these  monkeys  were.  It  seems  to  me  that 
there  are  five  great  traps  laid  for  men.  One  of  them  is  the 
monastery  and  nunnery,  which  are  opened  to  lead  men  and 
women  to  become  monks  and  nuns.  They  spread  them  fair 
before  you  —  gilt  idols,  chanting,  incense,  rest,  and  quiet. 
But  no  sooner  do  you  faU  into  their  hands  than  they  skin  off 
your  proper  clothing,  shave  the  last  hair  off  your  head,  even 
burn  nine  holes  into  your  crown,  rob  you  of  all  your  patrimony, 
and,  once  caught  in  their  toils,  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to 
escape.  Another  trap  is  litigation  and  the  lawyer's  house. 
(Men  are  forbidden  to  act  as  lawyers  in  China.)  Here,  in- 
stead of  learning  to  forgive  your  enemies  and  to  avoid  quarrels 
with  your  fellow-men,  you  are  incited  to  spend  time,  money, 
and  strength  to  the  destruction  of  your  financial  and  spiritual 
prosperity,  while  the  lawyer  and  the  yamen  people  fleece  you 
for  their  own  gratification.  The  third  trap  is  the  "  street  of 
flowers  and  the  lane  of  willows,"  where  the  temptress  lays  her 
snare.     There   is  seen   the  house  of  the  strange   woman, 


132  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

powdered  and  bedecked  for  the  destruction  of  the  fool,  who 
sells  his  very  garments  to  gratify  his  passion.  The  fourth 
trap  is  the  gambling-shop,  found  in  multitudes  both  in  town 
and  country.  As  the  monkeys  went  to  their  destruction  in 
bands,  so  these  misguided  people  gather  together  in  crowds, 
and  very  soon  everything  goes,  their  very  clothes  being 
skinned  from  their  backs  to  satisfy  their  greed.  The  fifth 
trap  is  the  opium  den,  and  a  big  one  it  is.  He  who  has  money 
can  buy  till  all  his  funds  are  gone,  then  off  comes  his  skin,  and 
in  rags  he  ends  his  days.  These  five  traps  may  be  likened  to 
the  destruction  which  awaits  those  who  refuse  to  repent  and 
be  converted. 

"  Do  you  think  there  is  any  way  of  escape  for  such  sinners  ? 
It  is  a  joy  to  know  that  our  Saviour  Lord  has  come  to  save 
us  out  of  destruction,  and  to  lead  us  back  into  the  right 
way.  Man  has  been  led  by  man  to  destruction.  Jesus, 
our  Saviour  Lord,  leads  us  out  of  the  snare  of  death  into 
the  snare  of  life.  For  the  Saviour  Lord  has  also  five  traps, 
laid  in  the  five  continents.  But  these  are  traps  of  life  and 
not  of  death  ;  and  within  them  is  food  of  the  best,  eternal 
truth,  righteousness,  loving-kindness,  and  grace.  To-day 
there  are  many  who  were  opium-smokers,  gamblers,  adulterers, 
and  wicked,  even  some  monks  and  nuns,  who  have  been 
saved  out  of  the  snare  of  death  into  the  snare  of  life,  all 
through  trust  in  Jesus  our  Saviour  Lord,  who  has  indeed 
saved  us  to  eternal  life." 

The  sermon,  both  in  teaching  and  expression,  lacks  some- 
thing of  the  ideal,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  good 
man  is  entirely  self-taught.  A  few  years  ago  he  could 
neither  read  nor  write.  Now  he  can  write  both  romanised 
and  character  quite  creditably.  I  have  given  the  sermon 
in  full,  blemishes  and  all. 

Another  style  of  sermon  is  of  the  etymological  order,  and 
it  can  be  made  both  interesting  and  instructive.  The 
Chinese  system  of  writing  lends  itself  readily  to  this  style. 
A  sermon,  for  instance,  can  be  preached  from  the  simple 

character  ^ ,  heaven,  and  three  or  four  headings  obtained 

from  it.    First,  }^,  man,  is  -^,  great.     Second,  there  is  — -, 

One,  above  the  greatest  man,   ^,  even  Heaven.      Third, 


NATIVE  SERMONS  133 

heaven  includes  greatness,  for  heaven  is  great  in  all  things 
— power,  wisdom,  grace,  everything  that  is  great.     Fourth, 

even  heaven,   ^'C,  is  incomplete  without  J\^,  man.     Fifth, 

from  the  ^,  "two,"  in  ^,  heaven,  we   may  learn  that 

there  is  a  close  relationship  between  heaven  above  and 
man  below  ;    and  so  on. 

I  once  heard  one  of  our  Ningpo  pastors  expound  the  parable 
of  the  lost  sheep.     He  explained  that  though  the  word  for 

sheep,  ^,  kindled  little  interest  in  a  southern  Chinaman's 

breast,  where  they  now  are  only  known  in  the  shape  of  goats, 
there  was,  nevertheless,  a  time  when  the  sheep  meant  much  to 
his  ancestors  ;  for  an  examination  of  the  Chinese  characters 
found  in  the  dictionary  under  the  radical  "  sheep,"  shows 
that  the  founders  of  China  were  nomads  and  shepherds. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  important  word  ^   (right,  just), 

from  which  a  long  series  of  words  has  been  formed.     Here 

we  have  "  sheep,"   ^,  above  "  I,  my,"  :^,  from  which  it 

was  argued  that  the  original  idea  of  rights  in  property  meant 
the  discrimination  of  a  man's  sheep  from  his  neighbour's,  and 
forbade  his  appropriating  a  sheep  belonging  to  another.  In  like 

manner  he  showed  that  ancestral  sacrifices,    ^,  originally 

required  the  selection  of  a  choice  lamb,  the  character  when 

analysed  giving  "lamb,"  ^,  and  "fine,"  ^,  in  other  words 

a  choice  lamb.  So  with  the  word  for  "  shame,"  a  crooked 
sheep,  and  the  word  "  nourish,"  mutton  as  food ;  and  the 
word  "  handsome,"  a  big  sheep  ;  from  all  which  he  was  able 
to  throw  a  new  light  on  the  southern  Wenchow  mind  as  to  the 
importance  of  the  sheep,  and  its  meaning  as  used  in  Scripture. 
Our  preachers  differ  in  their  sermons  as  they  do  in  their 
faces,  but  whatever  their  differences,  they  are  one  in  their 
intelligent  and  earnest  presentation  of  the  truth.  Though 
none  within  my  hearing  has  yet  ascended  to  the  lofty  spiritual 
heights  that  are  our  own  priceless  possession,  yet  they  are 


134  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

on  the  way  thither.  At  present  their  sermons  are  suited 
to  the  condition  of  their  hearers,  and  are  therefore  plain  and 
practical.  Their  theology  and  their  themes  are  obtained 
from  the  best  sources,  from  the  two  greatest  preachers  the 
world  has  ever  known,  Jesus  Christ,  and  His  disciple,  Paul 
the  missionary. 


IX 

WOMEN'S  WORK 

"  Those  women  that  laboured  with  me  in  the  gospel." 

What  is  the  position  of  woman  in  China  ?  To  say  "  she  has 
none  "  would  be  as  easy  as  it  would  be  untrue  and  impossible. 
The  influence  of  woman  is  powerful  everywhere,  whether 
she  be  imprisoned  within  the  walls  of  a  Hindu  zenana 
hidden  behind  an  Arab  veil,  made  to  toil  and  till  for  her 
African  spouse,  loved — and  feared — by  her  British  husband, 
or  spoken  of  apathetically  or  disparagingly  by  her  Chinese 
lord  and  master.  Well  is  it  for  the  world,  both  occidental 
and  oriental,  that  though  woman  may  be  secluded  she  cannot 
be  excluded,  and  that  both  in  East  and  West  she  makes 
herself  mistress  of  the  situation.  Certain  it  is  that  woman 
in  China,  if  not  as  openly  influential  as  in  Europe,  takes  no 
mean  position.  She  rules  the  home,  and  her  partner  in  hfe 
may  talk  about  her  as  lightly  as  he  will,  and  even  beat  her 
into  temporary  submission ;  none  the  less  does  he  stand 
in  jeopardy  all  his  days,  much  as  his  Western  cousin 
does. 

You  may  quote  the  classics  till  your  breath  fails  ;  you  may 
call  up  the  ghost  of  Confucius,  and  those  of  his  disciples,  to 
support  you ;  you  may  impress  on  her  the  importance  of 
the  three  "  obediences  " — first  to  father,  then  to  husband, 
then  to  son  ;  you  may  tell  her  that  "  the  fulfilment  of  a 
wife's  destiny  is  to  gratify  the  wishes  of  the  'One  Man,'  " 
and  that  "  she  may  not  presume  to  follow  her  own  jugdment." 
She  will  admit  all,  perhaps  with  a  smile,  and  still  proceed 
to  rule  the  "  One  Man  "  and  his  abode  as  of  yore  ;  and, 
if  she  be  an  anomaly  like  the  Empress  Dowager,  she  will 
rule  his  empire  as  well.  There  are  Chinese  wives  who  hate 
and  despise  their  husbands,  and  small  wonder  ;    there  are 

135 


136  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

others  who  love  them  as  faithfully  as  ever  man  has  been  loved, 
though  you  may  not  see  it,  for  "  only  in  the  most  retired 
hours  may  the  affection  of  wife  for  husband  be  manifested." 
There  are  wives  as  virulent  as  Xanthippe,  and  there  are  others 
as  mild  and  gentle  as  the  Madonna.  And  though  a  philo- 
sopher may  make  rules  by  the  mile,  and  his  followers  cut 
them  into  what  lengths  they  wiU,  the  soul  of  woman  is  free, 
and  human  nature  refuses  to  be  bound  in  fetters  forged  by 
bloodless  academicians.  The  Chinese  woman  is  too  much 
like  her  occidental  sister  to  submit  to  inflexible  rules  and 
"  philosophic  "  treatment. 

Neither  caste  nor  zenana  are  known  in  China  in  the  Hindu 
sense  of  those  terms.  The  nearest  approach  to  caste  is  the 
degraded  position  of  some  whose  ancestors  held  out  against 
the  establishment  of  the  present  dynasty,  whose  lives  were 
spared,  but  who  were  made  perpetual  outcasts  and  dis- 
franchised for  ever.  There  is  also  the  case  of  a  number  of 
others  whose  occupation  is  considered  menial,  such  as 
barbers,  lictors,  executioners,  butchers,  play-actors,  and  a 
few  more  ;  but  the  chief  penalty  attaching  is  that  they  may 
not  obtain  admission  to  the  State  examinations  and  the 
society  of  the  learned. 

As  to  the  zenana,  despite  the  precept  in  the  Chinese 
"  Whole  Duty  of  Woman,"  that  "  the  true  doctrine  of  husband 
and  wife  requires  the  latter  to  live  in  perpetual  seclusion," 
she  contrives  to  fulfil  her  whole  duty  by  a  compromise. 
Hence,  the  nearest  approach  to  the  zenana  is  that  young 
wives  and  grown-up  daughters  of  the  wealthy  and  official 
classes  are  seldom  seen  in  public,  though,  when  they  do 
appear,  as  for  instance  at  the  temples  or  at  some  public 
fete,  they  are  never  veiled  as  is  the  case  with  Western 
Asiatics. 

The  amount  of  seclusion  deemed  necessary  to  modesty  and 
demanded  by  custom  cannot  be  formulated  for  the  whole 
country,  or  even  for  a  province,  a  county,  or  a  town.  In  some 
places  the  women  live  a  free  and  open  life  ;  in  others  they  are 
seldom  seen  about  the  streets,  though  they  are  much  in 
evidence  at  their  own  doors  or  in  their  own  courtyards. 
Modesty,  however,  ever5rwhere  demands  that  a  respectable 
woman,  especially  if  young,  shall  not  mix  herself  up  unduly 


WOMEN'S   WORK  137 

in  a  crowd.  Hence,  at  a  fete,  or  in  the  temples,  the  women 
usually  take  their  places  apart  from  the  men. 

This  custom  has  necessitated  the  adoption  by  the  Christian 
Church  of  separate  seats  for  men  and  women.  Nowhere  are 
families  able  to  sit  in  church  together  ;  the  women  go  to  the 
women's  side,  and  the  men  to  the  men's.  Indeed,  where,  as 
in  Central  China,  custom  is  strongest,  some  churches  have 
adopted  a  dividing  curtain  or  partition,  behind  which  the 
women  sit.  Seeing  that  there  is  no  screen  in  the  native 
temples,  it  is  somewhat  to  be  regretted  that  such  a  practice 
has  been  deemed  necessary  in  the  Christian  Church,  though 
no  doubt  its  adoption  has  encouraged  many  a  woman  to  come 
to  service  who  otherwise  would  never  have  done  so  ;  more- 
over, as  the  Church  grows  numerically  stronger,  this  artificial 
barrier  will  be  removed,  just  as  high  pews  have  been  removed 
from  our  old  churches  at  home.  Fortunately,  in  the  south, 
the  churches  have  been  able  to  make  progress  without  the  aid 
of  such  a  barrier:  the  men  sit  on  one  side  and  the  women  on  the 
other,  as  in  the  Swiss  Protestant  churches  and  as  in  some  old- 
fashioned  places  in  the  British  Isles.  Mothers  bring  their 
children,  who  effectually  keep  their  mothers  and  others  from 
going  to  sleep. 

Being  in  China,  the  sex  which  predominates  over  the  other 
in  our  congregations  is,  of  course,  the  reverse  of  what  is 
common  at  home  :  here  the  men  are  most  in  evidence.  It  is 
generally  a  severe  ordeal  in  a  newly  established  station  for  the 
first  woman  to  begin  to  attend  service.  Sometimes  the  men 
are  quite  a  numerous  body  before  ever  a  woman  is  induced  to 
come,  and  she,  practically  always,  is  one  whose  husband  is  a 
Christian,  and  who  at  home  for  some  time  past  has  already 
knelt  at  the  family  altar.  But  as  most  of  our  churches  have 
their  birth  in  the  home  of  a  Christian,  it  is  easy  in  such  cases 
for  the  woman  of  the  house  to  hear  all  that  is  going  on,  without 
actually  being  present  in  the  room,  and  time  emboldens  her 
to  enter  and  take  part  in  the  services. 

Once  the  ice  is  broken  it  is  not  difficult  for  others  to  follow  ; 
and  now,  in  our  city  and  village  churches,  "  the  women's  side" 
is  an  important  part  of  the  congregation,  and,  in  the  city 
especially,  it  is  a  treat  to  see  them  in  their  neat  blue  cotton  or 
silk  jackets,  orderly  and  devout.     A  well-starched  cotton 


138  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

jacket  covers  a  multitude  of  patches  and  sins,  and  who  can 
begrudge  these  women  the  attempt  to  look  neat  and  clean 
which  they  always  make  ?  We  love  to  look  down  the  women's 
aisle,  and  see  a  couple  of  hundred  or  more  of  them  turning 
their  bright  faces  towards  the  pulpit,  most  of  them  with 
well-  thumbed  hymn-books  in  their  hands.  If  only  they 
could  give  their  children  a  spoonful  each  of  Mrs  Dosem's 
soothing  syrup,  just  enough  to  keep  them  quiet  for  an  hour 
and  a  half,  what  a  joyous  day  Sunday  would  be  to  them 
and  to  us  ! 

A  certain  Mission  once  experimented  by  appointing  one  of 
its  lady  members,  every  Sunday  morning,  to  gather  up  all  the 
papooses  and  entertain  them  in  another  building  till  after  the 
service.  The  experiment  failed.  For  one  thing,  the  mothers 
were  so  worried  about  their  bairns  that  the  sermon  was 
delivered  to  divided  ears  ;  whether  they  feared  little  Johnny 
was  being  cruelly  repressed  by  the  stern  foreigner,  or  whether 
they  were  afraid  of  making  an  exchange  at  the  close  of  service 
— perhaps,  even,  meditating  one — we  know  not.  Certain  it  is 
that  the  lady  who  undertook  the  task  broke  down  in  health 
soon  after,  at  which  no  one  expressed  surprise,  and  the 
children  went  back  to  their  mothers. 

At  present  footbinding  is  in  the  stage  preceding  unbinding. 
How  long  this  stage  wiU  last  no  wise  man  will  venture  to 
prophesy.  He  leaves  that  to  his  wife.  Certain  it  is  that  the 
last  ten  years  have  seen  a  greater  advance  towards  the  over- 
throw of  this  deplorable  custom  than  the  preceding  thousand 
had  done.  The  origin  of  the  practice  is  shrouded  in  the  mist 
of  antiquity  ;  some  say  that  it  arose  at  the  instance  of  a  club- 
footed  princess,  reminding  one  of  the  story  of  the  fox  without 
a  tail ;  others,  out  of  admiration  for  the  shape  of  the  new 
moon,  and  really  one  cannot  help  thinking  that  the  moon  had 
something  to  do  with  it ;  still  others,  that  the  men  introduced 
the  fashion  to  keep  their  women  from  gadding,  which  view  is 
probably  true,  as  it  has  signally  failed. 

What  beauty  any  one  can  see  in  club-feet  and  a  broken 
instep  it  is  difficult  to  imagine.  The  sight  of  the  bare  foot, 
with  its  hideous  distortion,  ought  to  be  enough  to  prevent  any 
parent  from  committing  such  a  barbarism.  Yet  the  women 
cling  to  their  bandages  as  tightly  as  do  European  ladies  to 


WOMEN'S  WORK  139 

their  steel  armour,  but  a  woman  in  China  looks  upon  a  sister 
possessing  natural  feet  with  infinitely  more  curiosity  than  a 
European  lady  looks  upon  another  without  "  mail."  It  is 
both  amusing  and  distressing  to  note  how  both  men  and 
women  look  quizzingly  at  the  feet  of  the  unbound,  as  much  as 
to  say,  "  What  queer  faddists  these  'rational  dress'  people 
are,  to  be  sure  !  No  decent  woman  could  go  about  like  that." 
The  present  Manchu  dynasty  did  not  hesitate  to  impose  its 
tail  on  the  Chinaman  at  the  risk  of  his  head ;  but,  as  some  one 
has  said,  it  wisely  did  not  attempt  to  impose  the  Manchu 
natural  foot  on  the  Chinawoman  :  it  may  not  be  known  to  all 
my  readers  that  Manchu  women  do  not  bind  their  feet. 

The  crux  of  the  problem  is  the  shoe.  She  who  will  invent 
a  well -shaped  shoe,  which,  by  its  curves,  will  make  the  foot 
look  small,  though  the  foot  itself  remain  of  natural  size,  will 
do  more  to  bring  in  the  happy  days  of  release  from  bondage 
than  can  ever  be  accomplished  by  much  exhortation  and 
advice.  Many  women,  especially  among  the  Christian  com- 
munities, have  already  unbound  their  feet,  and  not  a  few 
among  the  upper  classes  have  also  taken  this  bold  step, 
largely  as  the  result  of  the  Natural  Foot  Society,  of  which 
Mrs  Archibald  Little  is  the  indefatigable  President.  At  the 
last  annual  assembly  of  the  Society,  held  in  Shanghai,  nearly 
a  thousand  Chinese  ladies  and  gentlemen  met  together  in  its 
interests.  Unfortunately  in  many  places,  particularly  where 
the  movement  is  new,  the  women  who  unbind  have  to  adopt 
a  modification  of  the  man's  thick-soled  shoe,  and  the  poor 
woman  as  she  goes  along  the  street  must  sometimes  feel  as 
if  her  whole  being  had  turned  into  shoe  and  sole. 

Many  years  ago,  one  of  our  native  pastors  became  a  con- 
vert to  the  "  natural  foot  "  movement,  and  decided  that  his 
daughters'  feet  should  not  be  bound.  His  eldest  daughter 
began  to  attend  our  Girls'  Day  School,  but,  poor  child  !  she 
had  much  to  endure  going  to  and  fro.  Sometimes  the  men 
would  look  out  of  their  shop  doors,  and,  gazing  at  her  feet, 
with  a  shake  of  the  head,  say,  "  Hm  !  She  has  her  mother's 
face,  but  look — she's  got  her  father's  feet !  "  She  bore  it 
bravely,  but  on  one  occasion  gave  way,  and,  in  tears  and 
temper,  demanded  that  her  mother  should  bind  her  feet  at 
once  like  other  girls'.     On  her  mother's  refusing,  she  took 


I40  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

strips  of  cotton,  went  into  a  corner,  and  made  the  attempt 
herself. 

Infanticide  still  continues  to  be  a  custom,  with  all  the  evils 
that  follow  in  its  train.  By  this  term,  of  course,  only  the 
destruction  of  girls  is  meant,  for  no  Chinaman  would  think 
of  destroying  a  boy.  We  hear  little  of  this  practice,  and  see 
less ;  indeed,  many  Chinese  in  the  city  deny  its  existence, 
except  "  in  the  country."  But  that  it  exists  to  a  serious 
extent  was  recently  brought  before  my  attention  by  the 
latest  official  returns  of  the  Wenchow  county.  The  total 
male  population  of  this  county  is  1,170,368,  whereas  the 
female  portion  only  numbers  902,799.  Four  out  of  the  six 
parishes  barely  give  two  females  for  every  three  males,  and 
not  one  gives  an  equal  proportion  of  males  and  females.  It 
is  difficult  to  account  for  so  serious  a  discrepancy  save  on  the 
ground  of  the  exposure  of  baby  girls. 

Poverty  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  practice.  A  boy  is  worth 
bringing  up,  as  he  is  a  sort  of  old  age  pension,  for  will  he  not 
feed  you  when  you  are  old,  and  sacrifice  to  you  after  you  are 
dead  !  Even  if  you  have  more  sons  than  you  yourself  can 
bring  up,  somebody  will  be  only  too  glad  to  take  one  off  your 
hands.  But  a  girl !  You  have  to  feed  and  clothe  her  for 
years,  she  never  brings  in  anything,  and  in  the  end,  when  you 
pass  her  on  as  a  bride  to  another  family,  takes  no  little 
away. 

Much  nonsense  has  been  uttered  about  Chinese  girls  being 
sold  in  marriage.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  few  Chinese  parents 
gain  anything  by  the  marriage  of  a  daughter,  many  on  the 
other  hand  lose  heavily.  The  money  bargained  for  is  her 
dowry,  and  is  spent  in  providing  her  trousseau,  part  of  which 
consists  of  household  furniture.  Some  families  quarrel  over 
every  item  ;  others  send  off  their  daughters  with  great  eclat. 
But  how  is  a  family  that  lives  from  hand  to  mouth  to  bring  up 
and  marry  off  a  bevy  of  girls  ?  There  is  no  factory  or  domestic 
service  for  them,  and  what  they  can  earn  at  home  is  a  mere 
pittance.  True,  they  can  help  the  mother,  or  in  the  country, 
while  young,  look  after  the  cow,  but  these  occupations  bring 
in  no  money.  What  wonder  that  poor  families  betroth  their 
daughters  when  only  a  few  years  old,  and  send  them  off  to  be 
brought  up  in  the  homes  of  their  future  husbands 


WOMEN'S  WORK  141 

One  old  woman  confessed  to  Mrs  Soothill  that,  before  she 
became  a  Christian,  she  had  one  after  another  destroyed  three 
of  her  baby  girls,  and  other  women  have  made  similar  con- 
fessions. Just  as  in  ancient  Greece,  so  in  China,  little  shame 
seems  to  have  attached  in  the  past  to  the  practice ;  but 
now  the  "  baby  towers  "  have  fallen  into  disuse,  and  the 
dogs  are  no  longer  seen  at  their  revolting  work.  In  many 
places  native  societies  have  been  established  to  exhort 
against  this  evil,  and  to  provide  refuges  for  children  who 
would  otherwise  be  exposed.  Nevertheless,  if  the  figures 
quoted  above  be  proportionally  correct,  and  there  is  no  reason 
to  doubt  their  value,  then  it  seems  evident  that  the  destruction 
of  girls,  though  not  so  apparent  as  formerly,  is  still  far  from 
an  uncommon  practice.  Moreover,  though  there  are  hosts 
of  unmarried  men,  it  is  extremely  rare  to  meet  with  an  "  old 
maid " ;  indeed,  it  is  rare  to  find  a  girl  of  twenty  still 
unwedded. 

This  dearth  of  women  may  also  account  for  the  prevailing 
immorality,  for  neither  bound  feet  nor  seclusion  prevents  a 
woman  from  evil  ways,  if  her  heart  belong  not  to  her  husband. 
And  that  any  woman  comes  to  love  a  man  whose  face  she 
probably  has  never  seen  till  they  are  actually  man  and  wife, 
is  difficult  for  a  European  to  understand.  The  law  against 
immorality  is  severe,  even  permitting  the  husband  to  take 
the  dissevered  heads  of  the  guilty  pair  to  the  nearest  magi- 
strate. In  practice,  however,  such  an  occurrence  is  rare  as 
snow  in  June.  Natives  assert  that  more  than  fifty  per  cent, 
of  the  city  women  are  unfaithful.  This  statement  is  probably 
much  exaggerated,  but  it  bears  strong  evidence  to  the  pre- 
vailing lowness  of  moral  tone. 

In  theory  divorce  is  easy  ;  there  are  seven  causes,  any  one 
of  which  justifies  the  putting  away  of  a  wife  :  undutifulness 
to  the  husband's  parents,  failure  to  bear  a  son,  jealousy, 
leprous  disease,  chattering,  stealing,  or  immorality.  But  in 
practice  divorce  is  not  very  common,  for  the  wife's  relatives 
still  keep  up  an  interest  in  her,  and  have  to  be  reckoned 
with.  Hence,  the  husband  usually  vents  his  feelings  on  the 
recalcitrant  wife  in  an  impressive  manner,  and  when  her  mis- 
conduct absolutely  passes  endurance,  perhaps  seUs  her  off  to 
some  one  at  a  distance,  and  squares  her  family  with  part  of 


142  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

the  proceeds.  Amongst  our  Christians  there  is  but  httle  call 
for  reference  to  this  subject.  It  is  true  with  them,  as  it  was 
with  the  Corinthian  Church,  "  such  were  some  of  you  ;  but 
ye  are  washed,  but  ye  are  sanctified,  but  ye  are  justified  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God." 
Whatever  our  people  may  have  been  in  the  past,  our  Christian 
women  are  now  as  pure  as  any  in  the  world. 

Female  education  is  rare  in  China,  for  only  a  few  of  the 
wealthy  have  hitherto  had  their  daughters  educated.  Until 
the  commencement  of  Mission  schools  for  girls,  little  if  any 
interest  was  shown  in  their  mental  development.  Now  there 
is  a  stirring  among  the  dry  bones,  and  though  as  yet  it  is  but 
"  a  shaking,  and  the  bones  come  together,  bone  to  bone," 
it  is  nevertheless  the  first  stage  in  the  putting  together, 
vitalising,  and  elevation  of  the  Chinese  woman  of  the  future. 
Boarding  schools  are  costly,  and  we  as  a  Mission  have  never 
yet  been  able  to  afford  one,  though  often  have  we  longed  to 
do  so. 

A  number  of  years  ago  Mrs  Soothill  began  an  experiment 
with  a  day  school  for  girls,  and  though  later  it  became 
necessary  to  provide  a  dinner,  to  keep  the  little  dames  from 
being  too  prominent  in  the  streets,  the  school  has  been  a 
decided  success.  It  has  grown  from  just  a  few  to  over  forty, 
and  only  our  lack  of  accommodation,  teachers,  and  funds 
prevents  it  from  being  many  times  larger.  Recently  a  rule 
has  been  made  that  only  girls  with  unbound  feet  may  be 
admitted.  As  parents  are  afraid  of  not  making  a  suitable 
match  for  such  daughters,  this  has  temporarily  caused  some 
diminution  in  the  size  and  age  of  the  girls  ;  but  the  Church 
must  not  shirk  its  duty  in  this  great  battle,  and  the  time 
seems  to  have  come  when  well-established  stations  should 
face  this  important  subject.^ 

Our  Bible-women  are  a  distinct  help  in  evangelising  the 
unconverted  and  in  encouraging  those  who  become  interested 
to  attend  our  services.  We  have  three  regularly  employed, 
and  three  or  four  more  who  do  occasional  work.  Our  oldest, 
not  in  years  but  in  service,  is  a  quaint  little  woman  who  lost 

^  Since  the  above  was  written,  the  gentry  of  the  city  of  Greenfields 
have  started  a  Girls'  School,  and  put  it  in  charge  of  a  Christian 
teacher  and  his  wife. 


WOMEN'S   WORK  143 

her  voice  some  years  ago  "  preaching  against  the  west  wind," 
as  she  herself  asserts,  and  who  very  evidently  borrowed  or 
stole  one  from  a  raven  to  fill  its  place.  She  travels  over  more 
than  half  this  large  county,  visiting  Christian  homes  along 
with  her  companion,  preaching  to  all  who  gather,  fearless  and 
faithful,  even  to  the  point  of  rebuking  native  pastors  if  she 
sees  them  negligent  of  their  duty. 

Once,  after  preaching  in  a  convert's  house  to  the  people 
who  had  assembled,  she  was  addressed  by  a  gentleman,  a 
scholar,  who  said,  "  Madam,  what  you  have  said  is  excellent ; 
there  is  no  contradicting  it ;  it  is  all  true,  and  we  should  like 
to  accept  it.  May  I  suggest,  however,  that  in  your  addresses 
you  should  not  preach  Jesus,  but  only  God ;  then  perhaps 
scholars  like  myself  would  find  it  more  easy  to  receive  the 
teaching."  "  Not  preach  Jesus,  sir  !  "  cried  the  little  woman, 
"  Not  preach  Jesus  !  Why,  what  should  I  know  about  God 
if  it  were  not  for  Jesus  ?  " 

More  Bible-women  are  called  for,  and  they  need  training. 
Bible-classes  for  Christian  women  in  town  and  country  are 
also  in  demand,  but  our  staff  has  hitherto  been  insufficient  for 
that  important  work.  Happily,  many  of  our  Christian  women 
are  earnest  workers,  and  some  of  them  learn,  with  how  much 
difficulty  God  knows,  to  read  their  New  Testaments.  For 
instance,  in  the  large  village  of  Fung  Ling  lives  a  devoted 
Christian  woman  who  has  learnt  to  read  her  Testament  with 
a  fair  amount  of  ease,  and  it  is  always  interesting  to  note  the 
eager  attention  she  pays  to  the  sermon.  She  listens  and 
treasures  up  all  she  can  to  retail  to  others.  Some  years 
ago  she  had  a  Thursday  class  for  women,  but  was  not 
able  unaided  to  maintain  it.  Now  she  is  seeking  its  re- 
establishment. 

To  this  good  woman  the  Fung  Ling  church  owes  much. 
Soon  after  the  work  was  started  there,  a  severe  persecution 
broke  out,  and  four  of  the  Christians  suffered  long  in  prison 
before  we  were  able  to  obtain  their  release.  But  she,  the 
wife  of  the  leader,  despite  the  loss  of  all  her  worldly  goods, 
despite  her  wrecked  house  and  the  imprisonment  of  her 
husband,  stood  alone  and  undaunted,  trusting  in  the  Lord, 
whom  she  had  but  just  learned  to  love.  Borrowing  a  sleep- 
ing-mat from  one  relative,  a  bowl  or  two  and  some  chopsticks 


144  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

from  another,  and  an  old  rice  pan  from  a  third,  she  stood  by 
the  place,  or  what  was  left  of  it  by  the  rioters,  ate  frugally, 
and  slept  with  her  child  on  the  ground  till  such  time  as  her 
husband  was  able  to  return  from  prison  and  once  more  get 
his  home  into  some  order.  Her  faithfulness  helped  in  no 
small  measure  to  rehabilitate  the  scattered  church,  for  she 
daily,  in  all  modesty,  bore  testimony  to  the  truth  for  which 
her  husband  was  cruelly  suffering,  at  the  same  time  sending 
him  messages  to  brace  his  courage,  and  enable  him  to  bear 
up  bravely  until  the  day  of  justice  should  come. 

Some  time  ago  a  native  pastor  came  in  to  say  that  a  Chris- 
tian woman  was  in  great  trouble.  Her  husband  was  opposed 
to  her  being  a  Christian,  and  refused  to  let  her  go  any  longer 
to  service.  With  much  self-denial  she  had  already  saved 
enough  money  to  buy  a  New  Testament,  and,  being  more 
than  usually  intelligent,  had  succeeded  in  learning  to  spell 
her  way  through  portions  of  her  precious  book.  One  day 
her  husband  came  in  unexpectedly  from  the  fields  and  found 
her  reading,  which  greatly  exasperated  him ;  and  who  shall 
say  that  jealousy  of  her  superiority  had  nothing  to  do  with 
his  excitement !  He  seized  the  book  from  her  resisting  hands 
and,  la5dng  hold  of  the  wood-chopper,  hacked  it  over  and  over 
again,  turning  it  into  a  very  ragged  specimen  of  literature. 
The  poor  woman  managed  to  recover  her  mangled  treasure 
and  daily  succeeded,  with  many  struggles,  in  spelling  her 
way  down  a  page  of  its  contents.  Now,  the  pastor  was 
desirous  of  comforting  her  heart  with  a  good  copy.  Would 
we  be  willing  to  make  her  a  present  of  one  ?  To  this  a  ready 
response  was  given,  on  condition  that  the  chopped  Bible  be 
brought  in  exchange.  It  is  with  us  still.  So  are  both 
husband  and  wife,  who  are  now  living  happily  together  in 
the  Christian  faith. 

In  a  remote  mountain  village,  situated  in  the  gorge  through 
which  the  head  waters  of  the  "  Smaller  Fount "  of  the  North 
River  rush  over  their  rocky  bed,  lives  an  elderly  woman.  She 
is  blind  and  poor — ^was  blind  for  many  years  before  the  eyes 
of  her  soul  were  opened.  They  were  opened,  it  is  true,  by  an 
unworthy  man — but  let  that  pass  ;  suffice  it  that  they  were 
opened,  and  that  she  rejoices  in  the  glorious  inner  shining. 
So  effectual  did  she  become  in  prayer  with  the  sick,  that  ere 


WOMEN'S  WORK  145 

long  a  church  was  started  in  her  village,  and  soon  she  was 
in  demand  for  a  great  distance  around.  People  sent,  and  to 
this  day  send  chairs  to  carry  her  to  the  many  villages  where 
her  services  are  desired.  As  the  result  of  her  zeal  and  sin- 
cerity, three  other  churches  have  had  their  birth.  Best  of 
all,  her  only  son,  a  young  man  just  over  twenty,  an  able 
preacher,  and  withal  modest,  sincere,  and  manly,  has  just 
received  his  first  appointment  as  assistant  pastor,  after  a  two- 
years'  course  in  our  College. 

Ten  miles  to  the  west  of  this  city  is  another  church  which 
owes  much  to  a  woman.  She  is  still  young,  somewhere  over 
thirty,  and  her  integrity  and  goodness  of  character  have 
greatly  helped  to  maintain  a  work  which  has  cruelly  suffered 
the  ravages  of  death.  Member  after  member  has  died,  pro- 
ducing a  most  depressing  effect  on  the  infant  church  ;  for 
the  neighbours  naturally  look  on  these  deaths  as  a  visitation 
of  the  gods,  and  a  warning  against  the  new  teaching.  Worst 
of  all,  last  year  this  woman's  husband  died  also.  He  was 
not  a  baptised  member,  indeed  seldom  came  to  service,  but 
he  willingly  permitted  his  wife  to  become  a  Christian,  and 
also  placed  his  house  at  the  disposal  of  the  church  free  of 
charge.  He,  in  addition,  declared  his  adhesion  to  the 
doctrines  we  teach,  but,  said  he,  "I  have  the  food  of  the 
family  to  earn,  my  business  takes  me  much  away  from  home, 
and  I  cannot  see  my  way  to  lose  a  Sunday's  earnings.  I  am 
glad  for  my  wife  to  do  all  she  can,  but  my  duty  is  to  work  in 
order  to  keep  things  going  for  her  and  the  children."  Alas  ! 
he  has  been  cut  down  in  the  prime  of  life.  Possibly  had  he 
possessed  more  faith,  and  yielded  to  his  wife's  entreaties  to 
observe  the  Sabbath,  his  Ufe  might  have  been  spared.  But 
he  did  his  duty  as  far  as  he  saw  it,  and  who  shall  say  that  it 
shall  not  be  "  counted  unto  him  for  righteousness  " ! 

He  cheered  his  wife  by  his  deathbed  testimony,  but  also 
left  her  in  poverty  with  three  children  to  bring  up.  Very 
soon  after  her  husband's  death  she  began  to  take  two  small 
meals  a  day,  saying,  "  I  had  better  begin  early  to  eat  frugally, 
as  I  shall  now  have  to  get  used  to  a  hard  life."  She  has 
asked  aid  of  none,  but  is  receiving  a  small  allowance  from  our 
local  fund  for  the  poor.  The  church  needs  her  where  she  is, 
or  it  might  be  possible  to  find  her  greater  comfort  elsewhere. 
K 


146  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

We  have  apprenticed  her  son  to  a  Christian  tailor,  and  by 
hard  work  she  will  also  be  able  to  earn  about  a  penny  a  day, 
which  will  keep  her  from  starvation  ;  moreover,  our  people, 
especially  the  poor,  are  kind  to  each  other,  as  far  as  in  them 
lies. 

Our  West  Gate  work,  where  now  there  are  about  a  hundred 
people  in  attendance,  was  begun  and  developed  for  years 
by  a  woman.  Her  son,  formerly  a  member,  has  disappointed 
her,  but  she  prays  for  him  constantly,  and  looks  for  the  day 
when  he  will  return  to  God.  She  is  now  in  receipt  of  a  small 
sum  monthly,  to  enable  her  to  go  about,  as  she  has  done  at 
her  own  expense  for  ten  years  back,  carrying  the  tidings  of 
the  gospel  into  the  homes  of  the  city  people. 

Another  elderly  woman  at  Rainbow  Bridge  is  making,  her- 
self useful  in  that  great  district.  She  is  the  wife  of  a  man 
formerly  the  most  wicked  rascal  in  the  place.  Everybody 
feared  him,  therefore  none  of  the  many  warrants  issued 
for  his  arrest  were  ever  served.  When  very  short  of  money 
he  has  been  known  to  take  a  large  stone  and  heave  it  on  to 
the  counter  of  some  shopkeeper,  with  the  remark  that  he  had 
brought  it  for  sale.  The  tradesman  might  be  a  grocer,  a 
tailor,  a  tobacconist,  a  grass-dealer,  whose  trade  by  no  means 
lay  in  stone,  but  he  would  not  dare  to  refuse  for  fear  of  the 
man  who  faced  him.  As  a  rule  the  tradesman  simply  asked 
the  price  and  made  the  best  bargain  he  could.  This  man's 
house  used  to  be  the  rendezvous  of  all  the  wild,  reckless 
fellows  of  the  place.  At  last,  when  disease  had  made  him 
loathsome  both  to  himself  and  to  others,  he  came  under 
the  influence  of  the  hospital  and  the  gospel.  This  entirely 
changed  his  old  manner  of  life,  much  to  the  joy  of  the  Rainbow 
Bridge  people.  He  still  lives,  suffering  in  a  "  mortal  coil " 
that  it  will  be  a  relief  to  "  shuffle  off."  His  wife,  a  straight, 
tall,  old  woman,  is  far  and  away  the  better  man  of  the  two, 
and  she  now  receives  a  small  allowance  to  go  about  doing 
what  she  can. 

Missionaries'  wives  are  in  the  main  as  devoted  to  the  work 
as  their  husbands,  t  le  poorest  looking  after  their  husbands' 
health,  and  gencraly  showing  a  constant  sympathy  with 
the  natives  around  them ;  the  best  doing  all  this  and  more. 
A  goad  to  her  husband's  lagging  conscience,   wine  to  his 


WOMEN'S  WORK  147 

weary  spirit,  guide,  philosopher,  and  friend  in  every  difficulty, 
balm  to  his  frequent  wounds,  and  joy  to  his  heart — how 
she  can  be  all  this  in  addition  to  her  classes  for  girls  and  for 
women,  to  say  nothing  of  being  doomed  to  listen  to  him  so 
often  on  Sundays,  and  to  order  so  well  his  home,  is  a  marvel 
in  his  eyes. 

It  is,  however,  the  misfortune  of  the  missionary's  wife 
that  she  has  not  the  same  opportunity  of  learning  the  lan- 
guage as  her  unmarried  colleague.  Marriage  immediately  on 
arrival,  and  the  resulting  cares  of  maternity,  prevent  her 
spending  that  time  in  study  which  she  longs  to  spend.  The 
rule  of  sending  out  the  future  wife,  a  year  or  two  before 
marriage,  to  some  other  station,  in  order  that  she  may  have 
time  for  learning  the  language,  is  an  admirable  one.  There 
are  cases  where  this  cannot  be  done,  and  then  the  husband 
may  well  spare  time  to  see  her  properly  taught ;  for,  if  not 
a  hindrance,  it  can  be  but  little  encouragement  to  have  a 
wife  who  knows  nothing  of  the  language,  and  consequently 
who  has  a  less  intelligent  interest  in  his  life's  work. 

For  a  woman  to  live  abroad,  determined  only  to  be  a 
missionary's  wife  and  not  a  missionary-wife,  is,  for  both  their 
sakes,  to  be  deplored.  Happily  such  instances  are  rare,  for, 
when  a  Christian  lady  sees  the  needs  of  her  heathen  sisters, 
her  heart  goes  out  and  she  cannot  remain  idle.  There  is 
a  story  told  of  a  lady  going  out  as  a  missionary's  wife,  who 
was  questioned  by  some  member  of  the  "  Board  "  as  to 
whether  she  loved  the  work.  "  No,"  she  replied,  "  but  I 
love  the  man  !  "  And  she  later  became  the  best  worker  on 
the  field.  So  every  gifted  woman,  who,  on  arriving  in  China, 
has  her  eyes  opened  to  the  privileges  which  have  been  her 
heritage,  with  their  consequent  responsibility,  will  perforce 
bend  her  energies  to  the  amelioration  of  the  lot  of  her  less 
favoured  sisters. 

Nevertheless,  a  tropical  climate  is  enervating,  and,  with 
the  best  will  in  the  world,  a  wife  finds  herself  unable  to  do 
the  same  amount  of  work  that  an  equally  capable  but  untied 
sister  can  undertake.  Hence  there  is  a  clamant  demand 
for  single  ladies,  gifted,  educated,  healthy,  sympathetic. 
They  are  needed  to  hold  Bible-classes,  to  develop  girls' 
schools,  and,  perhaps  most  important  of  all,  to  train  and 


148  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

superintend  Bible-women,  who  can  be  sent  out  two  and  two, 
to  evangelise  the  women  in  their  town  and  village  homes  ; 
for  into  many  of  them  a  native  preacher  has  no  entry,  and 
a  foreign  lady  would  hardly  be  welcome.  In  our  own  Mission 
we  have  great  joy  in  our  women's  work,  but  prosperous 
though  it  be,  it  cries  loudly  for  some  one  to  come  and  help 
it  forward.  How  many  single  ladies  there  are  in  England, 
with  a  sufficient  income  for  their  self-support,  who  are  putting 
their  talents  to  good  use,  but  not  to  the  best  use,  who  have 
not  yet  learned  that  "  le  bon  est  I'ennemi  du  meilleur,"  and 
who  would  find  a  scope  out  here  of  which  they  had  never 
dreamt,  a  life  filled  with  usefulness,  contentment,  and  joy. 

Let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  woman  rules  the  home  in  China 
as  elsewhere ;  and,  given  a  Christian  mother,  you  imbue  her 
offspring  with  Christianity,  or  at  least  with  a  sympathy  for 
Christianity.     To  capture  the  home  is  to  capture  the  empire. 


X 

MEDICAL    WORK 

"And  they  anointed  with  oil  many  that  were  sick,  and  healed 
them." 

Medicine  is  our  substitute  for  miracle.  Whatever  the  cause, 
we  cannot  do  the  wonderful  works  wrought  by  the  Apostles. 
It  may  be  our  lack  of  faith  ;  it  may  be  the  power  has  been 
withdrawn,  having  served  its  purpose ;  or,  it  may  be  the 
power  is  here  within  man's  reach  as  much  as  ever,  and  that 
what  our  Saviour  did  was  an  indication  of  what  is  possible 
to  man,  even  as  this  generation  has  seen  the  miraculous,  in 
the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  held  out  to  men  from  prehistoric 
ages,  by  the  birds  of  the  air  and  the  fish  of  the  sea. 

Whatever  the  reason,  certain  it  is  that  we  missionaries 
of  Jesus  Christ  cannot  place  our  hands  on  the  blind  and 
they  see,  nor  on  the  lame  and  they  walk,  nor  on  the  palsied 
and  they  are  loosed  from  their  bond ;  nor  can  we  put  our 
fingers  into  the  ears  of  the  deaf  and  they  hear ;  nor  with  any 
occult  power,  nor  any  faith  within  the  acquaintance  of  present- 
day  man,  can  we  call  the  dead  back  to  life  again.  Neither 
can  the  Christian  scientist,  nor  any  school  of  faith  healers. 
It  is  just  here  that  they  fail :  and  for  this  reason  they 
have  no  right  to  arrogate  to  themselves  that  which  they 
do  not  possess.  If  they  are  searchers  in  the  great  school 
of  knowledge,  then  modesty  will  mark  them ;  when 
they  are  blatant  and  assuming,  they  prove  themselves 
charlatans, 

While  also  it  is  true  that  what  is  a  miracle  to  one  age,  or 
even  to  one  person,  is  only  an  everyday  occurrence  to  an- 
other, it  is  equally  true  that  the  miracles  done  by  Christ  and 
His  Apostles  remain  miracles  in  this  wonder-working  twentieth 
century.     The  sceptical  may  doubt   their  reality,  just  as 


150  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

millions  of  Chinese  doubt  the  possibility  of  flying  or  submarine 
propulsion  ;  nevertheless  the  miracles  of  Christ  are  of  en- 
couragement to  those  who  see  behind  them  that  Power  of 
God  which  some  day,  whether  for  cure  or  prevention,  is  to 
become  a  power  of  man.  Thank  God  for  the  mysteries  ! 
When  they  are  all  solved  it  will  almost  be  time  for  the  world 
to  cease  revolving. 

Though  they  do  work  miracles,  it  is  not  as  miracle-workers 
that  medical  missionaries  come  to  China.  It  can  hardly 
even  be  said  to  be  sympath}^  with  suffering  humanity. 
Brought  down  to  basal  fact,  they  do  not  come,  they  are  sent ; 
for  the  same  Power  is  behind  them  that  was  behind  the 
Apostles,  and  the  Power  is  insistent.  There  is,  indeed,  no  need 
for  them  to  come  as  wonder-workers.  The  Chinese  Christians 
themselves  are  already  gifted  in  that  direction.  Our  converts 
cannot,  it  is  true,  raise  the  dead,  though  they  sometimes 
assert  that  God  has  also  done  this  in  answer  to  their  prayers. 
They  cannot,  and  never  claim  that  they  can,  make  the  dumb 
speak,  the  lame  walk,  the  deaf  hear,  or  the  leprous  clean,  but 
they  can  "  cast  out  devils."  And  China  teems  with  devils. 
Over  these  our  Christians  have  great  power.  Though  the 
poor  demoniac's  own  friends  dare  not  approach  him,  our 
people  are  ever  bold  to  attack  the  demon  in  his  stronghold, 
and  there  by  the  power  of  prayer  to  conquer  him,  even  though 
his  name  be  Legion. 

An  old  Christian,  a  B.A.,  once  said  to  me  :  "I  notice  you 
do  not  yourself  go  to  pray  with  demoniacs.  How  is  it  ?  " 
Here  was  a  poser.  Honestly,  I  had  not  been  able  to  go, 
because  my  faith  was  not  strong  enough,  and  fear  of  failure, 
and  of  thereby  being  a  hindrance  to  others,  prevented  me. 
"  I  have  not  had  any  experience  in  these  matters,"  was  my 
reply.  "  Ah,"  said  he,  "I  thought  so.  Christianity  has 
driven  all  the  demons  out  of  your  country,  and  they  have  all 
come  over  here.     That  accounts  for  their  swarming  in  China." 

Certain  it  is  that  whether  from  natural  or  supernatural 
causes,  this  people  is  ridden  with  a  possession  which  makes 
the  lives  of  many  a  burden,  and  is  the  ruin  of  innumerable 
homes.  The  demon  may  be  the  fox  demon,  the  monkey 
demon,  the  white  cock  demon,  or  a  host  of  other  demons ; 
but  whatever  demon  it  be,  the  sufferer  often  mimics  the  sound 


MEDICAL   WORK  151 

of  the  creature's  voice  and  its  actions,  and  makes  demands 
for  the  wasting  of  the  family  property  in  idolatrous  worship, 
such  as,  in  his  sane  moments,  he  would  never  have  dreamt 
of  making.  To  cases  like  these  do  our  people  go  in  all  con- 
fidence, having  faith  in  God  that  He  will  rid  the  sufferer  and 
his  family  of  their  tormentor.  Many  are  the  cases  in  which 
relief  has  been  almost  instantaneous,  and  the  individual  at 
service  next  Sabbath  clothed  and  in  his  right  mind. 

No  foreign  doctor  can  perform,  or  rather  does  perform, 
such  a  cure.  Hence  it  is  not  as  this  kind  of  wonder-worker 
that  he  comes  out ;  our  converts  are  stronger  than  he  in  this 
respect.  He  comes  to  do  the  work  they  cannot  do.  As  we 
have  said,  they  cannot  make  the  blind  to  see  ;  he  often  can, 
and  what  is  equally  important,  he  prevents  many  seeing  eyes 
from  becoming  blind.  They  cannot  make  the  deaf  hear  : 
he  often  does.  They  cannot  by  their  prayers,  however 
earnest,  set  a  dislocated  shoulder  ;  nobody  ever  did,  and 
there  is  no  present  indication  that  anybody  ever  will,  any 
more  than  anybody  will  ever  build  a  tower  by  prayer,  though 
he  may  with  it :  but  our  doctor  can  set  the  shoulder,  as  the 
builder  will  build  the  tower.  They  cannot  cleanse  the  leper  ; 
no  more  can  the  doctor,  but  he  can  make  him  cleaner  and 
happier,  and  many  an  apparently  leprous  man  has  been 
made  sweet  and  whole  by  his  ministrations.  They  cannot 
pray  a  dirty  bullet  from  a  wound,  or  pray  the  fractured  bone 
together ;  it  was  never  intended  they  should  do,  and  so  the 
doctor  has  been  sent  for  this  work,  the  work  they  cannot  do. 

Thus  in  the  absence  of  the  power  possessed  by  the  Apostles 
of  anointing  with  oil,  laying  on  the  hands  in  prayer,  and  be- 
coming direct  conductors  of  health  to  the  suffering,  there  is 
no  more  Christ-like  work  given  to  men  than  this  which  is 
given  to  our  medical  missionaries,  of  being  conductors,  albeit 
in  tardier  fashion,  of  health  to  suffering  humanity.  Especially 
is  this  so  in  a  country  where  the  native  doctor,  never  having 
seen  inside  the  human  body,  gets  the  internal  organs  all 
mixed  up,  and  where  also  literally  everything  is  medicine, 
from  the  costly  gall  of  a  tiger  to  the  excrement  of  a  fowl, 
both  of  which  are  as  useless  as  they  are  disgusting.  Not  that 
the  Chinese  have  no  good  drugs.  To  begin  with,  there  is 
rhubarb,  largely  exported  to  England ;  and  there  are  hosts 


152  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

of  other  useful  medicines,  such  as  gentian,  digitahs,  aloes, 
cardamines,  peppermint,  etc.  Indeed,  the  Chinese  native 
doctors  are  somewhat  Uke  English  herbahsts,  who  with  their 
simples  are  helpful  to  many. 

What  can  men  do,  though,  whose  ideas  of  anatomy  are 
that  the  Uver  is  on  the  left  side  and  the  lungs  on  the  right ; 
that  the  left  pulse  indicates  the  condition  of  the  heart,  liver, 
and  kidneys,  and  the  right  pulse  the  condition  of  the  spleen, 
lungs  and  other  organs  ?  What  are  you  to  do  with  a  people 
whose  chief  division  of  disesises  is  into  cold  humours  and  hot 
humours,  and  who  describe  their  complaint  as  a  cold  humour 
in  the  upper  half  and  a  hot  one  in  the  lower,  or  vice  versd  ! 

In  surgery  they  are  well-nigh  as  helpless  as  children. 
True,  a  few,  pugilists  generally,  can  set  bones  fairly  weU, 
but  an  amputation  is  beyond  their  skiU.  They  place  great 
faith  in  such  second-rate  remedies  as  acupuncture,  blistering, 
and  excoriation.  Fortunately  they  have  never  indulged  in 
that  gory  delight  of  bleeding  which  gave  our  medicos  of  a 
century  ago  such  unbounded  satisfaction.  It  is  to  heal,  and 
to  teach  to  heal  on  scientific  prmciples,  slowly  acquired 
during  centuries  of  research,  that  our  Mission  doctors  are 
sent,  and  well  and  manfuUy  do  they  fiU  their  noble  office. 

Our  medical  work  in  Wenchow  was  begun  by  a  very 
ignorant  young  man.  Before  leaving  England  I  had  pro- 
vided myself  with  a  somewhat  elaborate  chest  of  homoeo- 
pathic tinctures,  and  having  no  other  way  of  being  useful, 
commenced  practice  on  the  principles  of  similia  similihus 
curantur.  For  years  these  tinctures,  with  the  addition  of 
quinine,  sulphur,  bluestone,  sulphate  of  zinc,  and  other  drugs 
were  my  daOy  companions,  and  were  much  sought  after 
both  in  town  and  country.  When  I  began  to  travel  about, 
they  certainly  helped  to  swell  my  audiences ;  and  as  the 
would-be  patients  had  first  to  swallow  the  sermon,  or  as  much 
of  it  as  they  could,  before  receiving  their  dose  of  tincture, 
it  was  thought  possible,  if  not  to  kill  two  birds  with  one  dose, 
at  least  to  capture  one  bird  with  the  two  nets  of  preaching 
and  healing.  Nor  was  the  effort  a  failure.  Anyhow,  homoeo- 
pathy was  so  safe  that  it  produced  a  sense  of  safety,  and 
whatever  good  I  was  able  to  do  was  unaccompanied  with 
harm. 


MEDICAL  WORK  153 

Twice  I  attempted  surgery.  In  one  case  it  was  on  a  youth's 
protruding  tooth,  and  after  tugging  and  perspiring  freely 
without  even  giving  him  any  pain  or  loosening  the  tooth 
one  iota — it  was  solid  rock — I  sent  him  home  to  await  my 
recovery  ! 

In  the  other  case  it  was  a  small  operation  for  entropion. 
By  the  time  I  had  excised  the  skin  from  the  old  man's  upper 
eyelid,  and  begun  to  find  a  difficulty  in  pushing  the  needle 
through  the  tough  integument,  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  was 
covered  with  vital  fluid,  that  I  should  never  finish  my  stitch- 
ing, and  end  by  being  arrested  on  a  charge  of  homicide.  As 
a  matter  of  fact  he  hardly  lost  a  dozen  drops,  though  by  the 
effect  they  produced  on  my  unaccustomed  nerves  they  must 
have  been  an  unusually  vivid  red.  The  old  man  recovered 
rapidly,  has  been  able  to  see  better  ever  since,  and  founded 
a  church  in  his  vUlage,  whether  out  of  gratitude  to  me  or 
thankfulness  for  his  spared  life — his  groans  almost  stopped 
the  beating  of  my  heart  —  I  have  never  inquired.  He  is 
now  one  of  our  oldest  Christians,  a  loyal,  devoted  old  soul, 
who  is  ever  delighted  to  hear  of  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 

Heartily  would  I  recommend  any  man,  who  is  going  to  a 
remote  district  out  of  the  reach  of  a  doctor,  to  obtain  a  few 
months'  training  in  medicine  and  simple  surgery,  and  if  he 
cannot  have  that,  let  him  take  out  a  box  of  simple  remedies 
and  use  them.  If  they  ■per  se  do  some  good,  as  they  certainly 
ought  to  do,  they  will  open  the  way  for  the  greater  Cure 
which  he  brings.  At  least,  if  wisely  used,  they  will  show 
his  sympathy  to  be  of  a  tangible  nature — something  that 
the  people  can  understand  from  the  outset,  and  not  too 
ethereal  "  for  human  nature's  daily  food." 

The  next  step  in  advance  was  when  my  first  colleague 
arrived.  He,  the  Rev.  J,  W.  Heywood,  now  of  Ningpo, 
brought  with  him  the  experience  of  a  six  months'  course  in  the 
Manchester  Infirmary,  plus  rows  of  large  bottles,  which  made 
my  poor  wee  phials  look  like  Tom  Thumbs  alongside  the 
Russian  giant.  It  was  with  joy  that  I  handed  over  to  him  my 
practice — which  was  probably  as  great  an  expense  to  me  as 
benefit  to  my  patients — and  well  did  he  build  it  up.  Soon, 
in  order  to  give  him  time  for  study,  it  became  necessary  to 
have  fixed  dispensary  days,  and  afterwards  the  advisability 


154  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

of  removing  the  work  from  the  house  to  the  city  church 
became  apparent.  At  that  time  there  was  resident  here  Dr 
J.  H.  Lowry,  of  the  Imperial  Chinese  Maritime  Customs, 
and  he  voluntarily  rendered  gracious  and  very  valuable 
occasional  aid,  both  in  the  dispensary  and  to  our  own 
staff.  As  a  Mission  we  are  highly  indebted  to  him  for  much 
kindness  and  skill. 

Only  a  fortnight  ago,  a  man  who  was  applying  for  baptism 
told  me  that  he  had  first  been  led  to  appreciate  Christianity, 
more  than  ten  years  ago,  at  this  little  dispensary.  He  had 
brought  his  wife,  suffering  from  some  skin  trouble  ;  and  after 
she  had  been  some  time  under  Mr  Heywood's  treatment  the 
man  was  able  to  take  her  home  cured.  What  affected  him 
as  much  as  anything,  however,  vvas  not  only  the  cure,  but 
that  Mr  Heywood,  thinking  them  in  need,  had  offered  to  pay 
their  travelling  expenses  home.  They  did  not  need  help, 
for  he  had  brought  enough  for  all  their  requirements ;  but 
it  made  a  deep  impression  on  him,  that  the  foreigner  was 
not  only  kind  enough  to  spend  his  time  and  use  his  medicine, 
but  was  also  anxious  to  see  them  reach  home  safely.  He  has 
been  attending  service  many  years,  and  now  seeks  baptism. 

Another  case  which  started  our  work  in  an  important 
centre  was  that  of  a  poor  leper,  also  treated  by  Mr  Heywood. 
We  were  one  day  called  out  to  the  back  door,  to  see  a  wretched- 
looking  object,  which  had  crawled  on  its  knees,  pushing  a 
stool  before  it  for  support,  over  ten  miles  of  a  rough  country 
footpath,  and,  after  a  boat  journey  down  the  river,  for  another 
two  miles  through  the  busy  city  streets  to  our  house, 
where  report  said  wonderful  cures  were  performed.  It  was 
a  man  forty  years  of  age,  though  he  hardly  wore  a  human 
appearance. 

Neither  of  us  had  seen  leprosy  before,  and  did  not  know 
if  this  were  such  a  case  ;  but  whether  leprosy  or  not,  the  poor 
fellow  seemed  so  utterly  beyond  our  skill  that  we  sought  to 
send  him  away  with  a  little  temporary  assistance.  He  begged 
so  earnestly,  however,  and  his  gentle  eyes  and  attractive 
smile  so  pleaded  for  him  that  our  hearts  melted,  and  he  was 
taken  in,  to  see  if  anything  could  be  done  for  him.  Slow 
and  wearisome  was  the  process,  but  after  some  months  he 
was  sent  home  a  new  man.    His  skin  was  healed  and  clean. 


MEDICAL   WORK  155 

his  strength  had  come  back  to  him ;  and  though  his  hands 
and  feet  were  still  numb  and  slightly  paralysed,  he  was  able 
to  return  to  his  native  place,  and  for  a  time  keep  himself  by 
herding  a  few  goats.  What  pleased  us  most  was,  that  from 
the  first  his  mind  had  been  quick  to  appreciate  the  beauty 
of  the  Saviour,  and,  on  reaching  home,  it  was  not  long  be- 
fore he  gathered  about  him  a  few  relatives  and  friends,  who 
formed  the  nucleus  of  a  church. 

Soon  his  disease  broke  out  afresh,  and  he  was  again  down 
in  the  city  undergoing  treatment ;  but,  after  once  more 
patching  him  up,  he  was  sent  back  to  his  goat-herding. 
This  went  on  time  after  time  for  some  years  ;  yet  his  increasing 
weakness  and  physical  misery  never  altered  the  sweet  smile 
with  which  he  greeted  us,  nor  the  gentleness  of  his  disposition. 
Unfortunately  his  weakness  did  prevent  him  safeguarding 
his  little  flock  of  goats,  some  of  which  were  stolen,  and  others 
carried  off  by  wild  animals.  We  did  what  we  could  for  him, 
and  his  relatives  also  helped. 

One  evening  the  beginning  of  the  end  arrived.  He  was 
sitting  at  his  table  with  a  small  open  light  by  his  side.  After 
a  while  he  casually  turned  his  head,  and  saw  with  surprise 
that  his  hand  was  in  the  lamp  ;  withdrawing  it,  he  found 
that  his  little  finger  was  almost  burnt  off.  He  had  suffered 
no  pain,  but  the  finger  was  gone.  Another  visit  to  the  city 
was  involved,  which  was  his  last,  for  his  next  attempt  carried 
him  on  a  joyful  journey  to  the  Heavenly  City.  It  is  known 
that  he  reached  a  point  on  the  river  bank,  where  he  sat 
waiting  for  a  passing  boat,  but  nothing  more  was  ever  learnt 
save  that  his  dead  body  was  found  in  the  river.  No  !  he 
was  not  the  man  to  commit  suicide.  He  had,  we  believe, 
overbalanced  and  fallen  into  the  swift  stream.  But  hurried 
though  he  was  to  the  Land  where  the  leper  may  be  the 
cleaner  for  his  leprosy,  he  left  behind  him  a  work  which  has 
grown,  the  one  church  he  founded  being  now  three. 

Our  next  great  step  forward  was  the  obtaining  of  a  fully 
qualified  medical  man.  Towards  the  end  of  1893  Dr  Alfred 
Hogg  was  sent  out,  and  after  spending  nearly  a  year  in  study- 
ing the  language,  he  took  over  the  medical  department.  Mr 
He5rwood  had  fitted  up  a  dispensary  at  the  city  church, 
but  the  only  accommodation  for  in-patients  was  a  room  or 


IS6  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

two  I  had  put  up  some  years  previously  for  an  opium  refuge, 
and  these  now  turned  out  very  useful  as  an  embryo  hospital. 
When  Dr  Hogg  arrived  the  rooms  were  already  overcrowded, 
and  withal  were  not  well  suited  for  the  growing  work.  More- 
over, the  city  church  needed  these  premises  for  other  purposes, 
and  the  time  had  manifestly  arrived  for  the  erection  of  a 
more  suitable  building,  giving  accommodation  for  in-patients, 
and  enlarged  possibilities  for  the  increasing  number  of  out- 
patients. 

Hence,  on  the  recommendation  of  my  old  friend  and 
pastor,  the  Rev.  A.  J.  Walkden,  the  late  Mr  John  Dingley  of 
Yarmouth  undertook  to  erect  the  buildings  we  then  required. 
Land  was  bought,  wards  for  twelve  men  and  ten  women, 
with  outhouses,  kitchens,  and  lodge,  were  erected,  and  as  our 
principal  work  was  dispensary  treatment  a  good-sized 
dispensary  and  chapel  or  waiting-room  was  built.  These 
buildings  have  served  their  purpose  for  nine  years,  and 
are  soon  to  be  utilised  as  a  schoolroom  for  our  three 
hundred  boys. 

In  the  meantime  Dr  W.  E.  Plummer  has  taken  the  place  of 
Dr  Hogg,  and  during  the  last  three  years  the  wards  have 
been  enlarged  and  more  than  doubled  in  number,  the  very 
cellars  being  fitted  up  with  beds.  The  women  also  have  had 
to  be  removed  to  our  own  compound  to  make  more  room  for 
the  men.  Once  more  the  times  and  the  man  have  demanded 
adequate  consideration.  Again  our  premises  have  been  out- 
grown, and  our  needs  clamorous.  The  result,  in  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  is  that  Mr  Henry  Blyth,  who  built  our  Ningpo 
Hospital,  and  who  was  an  old  friend  of  Mr  Dingley's,  has 
stepped  into  the  breach.  Most  generously  has  he  under 
taken,  at  his  own  expense,  to  build  us  a  new  hospital  to 
contain  a  hundred  and  fifty  beds,  with  all  the  necessary 
appurtenances  of  dispensary  and  chapel  for  out-patients, 
operation  and  dressing-rooms,  kitchens  and  outhouses.  The 
handsome  building  is  just  completed,  and  will  be  fulfilling 
its  beneficent  mission  ere  this  book  is  in  print. 

Over  ten  thousand  visits  are  paid  by  patients  to  the 
dispensary  annually.  Last  year  the  total  reached  11,630, 
and  in  addition  there  were  5740  purchasers  of  medicine  at 
the  drug-store  during  its  first  nine  months  of  existence ;  so 


J 


P-, 
m 
O 

H 
P 


MEDICAL   WORK  157 

that  the  Dingley  Hospital  has  seen  within  its  walls  a  grand 
total  of  more  than  seventy  thousand  out-patients,  most  of 
whom  have  heard  for  the  first  time  the  tidings  of  salva- 
tion which  we  come  to  bring.  Again,  last  year  there 
were  740  in-patients ;  and  since  its  erection  over  four 
thousand  sick  people  have  occupied  the  beds  of  the 
Dingley  Hospital. 

Our  doctor  is  a  busy  man.  What  with  12,000  out-patients 
and  700  in-patients  a  year  ;  with  400  operations,  200  of  them 
under  chloroform  ;  with  450  visits  paid  to  European  mem- 
bers of  the  community,  every  penny  of  their  fees  going 
into  the  hospital  funds  ;  with  the  almost  daily  teaching 
during  nine  months  of  the  year  of  his  half-a-score  native 
students  and  assistants  ;  and  with  the  arranging  of,  and 
for  the  most  part  personal  presence  at  550  services  and 
lantern  lectures  for  the  patients  every  year,  we  defy  any  one 
to  call  Dr  Plummer  lazy.  And  the  total  cost  to  our  Mission 
Fund  of  this  great  work,  apart  from  the  doctor's  salary,  is 
only  about  £100  a  year.  Compared  with  the  cost  of  hospitals 
in  England  this  pittance  sounds  quite  ridiculously  insignifi- 
cant. Yet  the  doctor  is  not  content,  for  he  is  bent,  with 
every  prospect  of  speedy  success — on  making  his  department 
entirely  independent  of  our  general  Mission  Fund. 

Would  you  like  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Dingley  Hospital  ? 
It  wiU  be  a  greater  pleasure  to  take  you  round  the  Blyth 
Hospital  in  another  month  or  two,  but  the  method  of  working 
and  the  type  of  patient  will  remain  the  same  there,  so  you 
may  see  in  these  crowded  quarters  what  you  would  see  in  the 
larger  and  more  perfect  building. 

Here,  then,  at  the  entrance  is  the  gatekeeper's  house.  She 
is  a  stout  old  dame,  and,  as  it  is  dispensary  hour,  you  notice 
that  there  is  a  crowd  around  her  window  paying  in  their  thirty 
copper  cash  apiece,  value  about  a  penny,  for  which  in  return 
each  person  receives  a  bamboo  tally  with  a  figure  on  it. 
Crossing  the  small  courtyard  they  enter  the  chapel.  It  is 
now  nine  o'clock,  and  the  place  is  full.  We  see  a  motley 
crowd — good  clothes  and  patches,  intelligence  and  loutish- 
ness,  clean  skins  and  sores  that  disturb  your  equanimity, 
adults  and  little  children.  Christians  and  idolaters  all  mingle 
together  and  take  their  seats  side  by  side.     Here  or  the 


158  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

speaker's  left  sit  the  women,  some  of  them  hugging  their 
babies  and  chattering  as  usual. 

In  comes  the  doctor  with  his  students,  an  intelligent, 
clean-looking  half-dozen,  all  professing  Christians.  Hymn- 
sheets  on  which  are  printed  four  verses  of  a  hymn,  a  text, 
a  short  prayer,  and  the  dispensary  hours  and  charges  are 
handed  round.  The  hymn  is  read  over  and  explained,  the 
doctor  plays  over  the  tune  on  his  asthmatic  little  organ — 
asthma  in  men  and  instruments  is  not  easily  cured  in  this 
climate — and  we — no,  do  not  sing,  but  make  a  noise.  Half 
of  those  present  have  never  heard  or  sung  to  the  praise  of 
God  in  all  their  lives,  nor  even  heard  that  there  is  a  God.  A 
short  address  follows,  and  a  prayer  closes  the  little  service, 
which  is  strictly  hmited  to  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  The  medicos 
disappear,  and  promptly  comes  the  cry,  "  No.  i.  No.  2," 
and  so  on  ;  hearing  which,  the  happy  possessors  of  the  tallies 
bearing  those  figures  and  who  may  have  been  waiting  since 
seven  o'clock,  come  in  haste  to  the  door  leading  to  the  con- 
sulting-room. 

By  this  time  the  students  have  taken  their  places,  two  of 
them  in  the  dispensing  room,  and  the  rest  at  their  respective 
tables.  A  patient  is  sent  to  each  of  the  latter,  whose  duty  it 
is  to  carefully  go  into  the  history  of  the  case,  write  it  down  in 
romanised  on  the  printed  sheet  before  him,  make  his  diagnosis, 
indite  the  prescription,  and  pass  on  the  patient  for  Dr 
Plummer's  confirmation.  Most  of  the  prescriptions  pass, 
but  now  and  then  a  more  careful  examination  seems  called 
for,  and  the  student  comes  forward  to  assist  in  making  it. 
In  this  way  the  patients  obtain  satisfactory  treatment,  and 
the  students  excellent  practical  training.  By  this  method 
as  many  as  a  hundred  and  sixty  patients  have  been  treated 
in  one  morning. 

Now,  if  you  will  step  over  to  the  building  opposite  we  will 
look  through  the  in-patient  department.  Up  this  flight  of 
steps,  please,  for  when  first  built  the  wards  were  raised  six 
feet  from  the  ground,  so  as  to  be  high  and  dry.  On  the  left 
is  the  warder's  cubicle  and  through  the  door  you  will  find 
the  patients  in  two  rows.  The  ward  is  bare,  save  for  a  few 
coloured  prints  with  which  the  doctor  has  garnished  the 
walls ;    the  beds  are  the  plainest  iron,  no  wire  mattresses. 


MEDICAL   WORK  15^ 

only  boards  ;  no  snow-white  sheets  and  pillows,  only  blue 
cotton  quilts  ;  no  vases  of  flowers,  no  frills  of  any  sort,  for 
our  warder  is  of  course  a  man,  and  a  Chinaman.  By  the 
time  he  has  washed  the  floor,  brought  the  patients  their  meal, 
and,  not  washed  them,  but  handed  each  the  usual  wet  cloth 
to  wipe  his  face  ajter  eating,  which  is  the  Chinese  form  of 
grace  after  meals,  the  warder  has  little  time  left  for  other 
embellishments. 

As  to  the  patients — well,  no  one  on  earth  surely  looks  so 
utterly  woebegone  as  a  sick  Chinaman.  His  hair  grows 
stubbly  on  the  top  of  his  head,  his  tail  gets  rucked  up,  and 
his  clothes  come  all  unbuttoned  ;  his  skin  takes  on  a  dull 
hue,  very  different  from  the  not  unpleasing  pallor  of  the 
invalid  white  man  ;  in  a  word,  the  sick  Chinaman  does  his 
illness  the  fullest  justice. 

In  this  cot  to  our  left  lay  a  man  for  six  months,  from  the 
city  of  Jui-an,  who  had  stepped  on  a  rusty  nail.  After 
enduring  months  of  agony  at  the  hands  of  native  doctors, 
who  kept  his  leg  bent  off  the  side  of  his  bed,  in  such  a  fashion 
that  the  knee-joint  had  become  ankylosed,  he  was  advised 
to  come  here.  The  leg  was  black  and  swollen,  and  there 
seemed  nothing  possible  but  amputation.  A  one-legged  man, 
however,  is  seldom  seen  in  China,  as  amputation  is  unknown, 
so  Dr  Plummer  decided  to  make  an  attempt  at  cure,  though 
the  outlook  was  to  all  appearances  hopeless. 

For  months  the  man  lay  in  this  bed  till  the  ulcerated  parts, 
with  discouraging  slowness,  had  nearly  healed;  then  the  tendons 
behind  the  knee  were  cut,  and  the  doubled-up  leg  released 
from  its  bonds.  After  a  time  he  was  sent  home  hobbling 
with  a  couple  of  crutches,  but  the  leg  had  just  been  saved 
from  gangrene  or  complete  atrophy,  circulation  was  restored, 
and  within  a  year  of  his  return  home  he  was  able  to  cast  away 
his  sticks.  Now,  along  with  his  buxom,  cheery  wife  and  his 
sturdy  children,  he  comes  regularly  to  service,  limping  but 
slightly,  and  always  deeply  grateful  for  his  spared  life  and 
his  restoration  to  activity. 

While  here  he  was  also  cured  of  the  opium  habit,  which 
he  had  contracted  to  ease  the  suffering  caused  by  his  terrible 
leg.  Never  shall  I  forget  his  language  as  he  was  going  under 
the  anaesthetic  before  operation :   it  was  lurid  to  a  degree ; 


i6o  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

his  big  strong  face  became  contorted  with  irrepressible  fury, 
and  there  poured  from  his  hps  a  torrent  of  obscene  language 
that  plainly  indicated  unlimited  practice  —  he  was  a  pork 
butcher  by  trade.  Such  language  to-day  is  an  impossibility 
to  him.  He  is  a  member  of  our  Jui-an  church,  and  a  ready 
witness  to  the  gospel  which  saved  him  and  now  adorns  his 
hfe. 

In  the  bed  over  there  lay  a  youth  for  months,  both  his  legs 
a  mass  of  putridity.  Ultimately  cured,  he  took  the  tidings 
of  salvation  to  his  home  sixty  mUes  away,  and  gathered  a 
few  people  together,  whose  numbers  increased  until  a  pastor 
was  demanded.  In  1900,  the  head  man  of  the  place  destroyed 
the  youth's  home,  where  these  few  people  had  formed  their 
church,  the  nearest  service  on  the  south  being  twenty  miles 
off,  and  on  the  north  fifty.  The  head  man,  a  military  M.A., 
also  seized  the  preacher,  tried  to  take  out  his  eyes  and  to  cut 
off  his  ears,  from  doing  which  indeed  he  was  only  restrained  by 
his  own  father's  petitions.  Before  the  pastor  was  released, 
the  Christians  were  mulcted  in  the  huge  fine  of  S3000,  which 
necessitated  the  pawning  of  aU  they  possessed;  and  yet, 
though  the  building  was  razed  to  the  ground  and  the  handful 
of  Christians  scattered,  the  work  was  not  destroyed,  but  is 
now  prosperous,  and  two  other  churches,  even  stronger  than 
the  original,  have  grown  from  it. 

There,  in  the  other  bed,  lay  a  youth  who,  though  resident 
in  this  city,  had  never  heard  about  God.  While  here  he 
became  a  convert,  and  was  in  consequence  forbidden  the 
house  by  his  mother  and  step-father.  We  started  him  in 
business  with  a  doUar,  and  he  commenced  hawking  sweet- 
stuff  about  the  streets  ;  but,  after  a  month  or  so  had  passed, 
he  was  sought  out  by  his  mother  and  invited  home  again. 
"  Not  unless  you  will  allow  me  to  be  a  Christian,"  he  said. 
Consent  was  grudgingly  given,  and  now  both  father  and 
mother  are  members,  and  the  young  man  himself  an  acceptable 
preacher.  He  also  last  year  induced  other  neighbouring 
Christians  to  join  him  in  renting  a  room  and  furnishing  it 
for  evening  services.  Fifty  to  a  hundred  people  are  generally 
present  at  these  meetings,  which  are  carried  on  entirely  free 
of  expense  to  the  Mission. 

In   this   bed  by  the   door  rested    Mr  Chang,   and  also 


MEDICAL   WORK  i6i 

Ah  Yao  Pah,  who  both,  during  their  stay  within  these 
walls,  bore  glad  testimony  to  the  power  of  Christ  to  save. 
In  that  lay  a  barber,  whose  past  life  had  left  him  an  utter 
wreck,  whose  whole  body  was  a  mass  of  corruption,  whose 
features  were  twisted  out  of  shape,  and  who  had  mortgaged 
his  wife  to  another  man  till  he  could  again  afford  to  keep 
her.  For  years  after  his  first  patching  up  he  was  a  regular 
attendant  at  the  dispensary.  He  professed  Christianity,  and 
was  principally  the  means  of  founding  what  has  become  a 
very  prosperous  meeting  in  a  busy  quarter  of  the  city. 
His  marital  arrangements,  however,  prevented  his  ad- 
mission to  baptism ;  moreover,  he  had  never  really 
"  experienced "  Christianity,  and  some  time  ago  withdrew 
from  us. 

Beyond  the  door,  at  the  far  end  of  the  ward,  is  the 
operating  room,  a  recent  addition,  where  things  surgical 
are  performed,  ranging  from  iridectomy  to  doing  something 
to  an  empyema,  which  simple  words,  no  doubt,  are  as  easy 
for  the  ordinary  man  to  understand  as  are  the  others  in  the 
doctor's  list.  Below  us  are  the  cellars  ;  if  we  go  down, 
we  shall  find  these  also  converted  into  wards.  Take 
care  of  your  head — the  total  height  is  only  six  feet,  and 
the  door  is  some  inches  less.  In  this  dark  place  we  are 
compelled  to  keep  a  dozen  patients  until  the  new  building 
is  finished. 

Round  the  corner  is  our  chemist's  shop,  a  recent  institu- 
tion, where  drugs  can  be  bought  and  prescriptions  dispensed  at 
any  time  during  the  day.  This  saves  the  time  of  both  doctor 
and  patient,  as,  if  a  prescription  is  answering  its  purpose,  the 
patient  can  readily  have  it  repeated  without  awaiting  a  con- 
sultation. Already  a  considerable  business  is  being  done 
at  a  profit,  which  is  a  welcome  help  to  our  finances.  In 
our  new  hospital,  adjoining  the  street,  a  drug  shop  is 
being  specially  built,  and  we  expect  this  department  to 
materially  advance  Dr  Plummer's  admirable  effort  after 
self-support. 

Behind  us  are  the  kitchens  and  outhouses,  and  through 
this  gateway  is  what  was  the  women's  ward.  The  men 
have  driven  the  women  out,  and  they  are  now  temporarily 
quartered  in  our  dwelling-house  compound.     The  ex-women's 

L 


i62  A  MISS/ON  IN  CHINA 

ward  is  well  tenanted  by  men,  even  the  cellar  being  oc- 
cupied. 

Services  are  held  every  day  for  the  in-patients,  and  the 
speaker  always  receives  an  attentive  hearing.  I  went  past 
the  women's  ward  this  morning  on  my  way  to  the  new 
building,  and  it  was  interesting  to  see  every  one  of  its  occu- 
pants kneeling  with  Mrs  Plummer  in  prayer.  No  com- 
pulsion is  brought  to  bear,  but  the  patients  are  not  in  long 
before  they  willingly  kneel  to  worship  the  great  God  about 
whom  they  are  daily  told.  So  religious  do  some  become, 
that  they  will  not  swallow  a  dose  of  medicine  till  they  have 
said  a  prayer  over  it,  which,  as  someone  remarked,  is  better 
than  pulling  a  wry  face  beforehand.  And  if  grace  before 
meat  is  advisable,  how  much  more  is  prayer  before  medicine, 
and  grace  afterwards  ! 

When  we  were  recently  visiting  a  large  island  out  at  sea, 
a  young  woman,  to  whom  my  daughter  had  shown  some 
attention  during  her  stay  in  the  hospital,  would  hardly  leave 
her  side  all  the  time  we  were  there.  She  was  not  a  Christian 
when  she  came  to  the  city,  but  is  now  in  regular  attendance 
at  our  services  on  that  island.  Another  woman,  who  in  a 
fight  with  a  neighbour  had  had  part  of  her  ear  bitten  off,  and 
who  in  consequence  had  to  be  in  the  hospital  for  some  weeks, 
has  to-day  come  a  long  way  to  be  present  at  the  Thursday 
Women's  Meeting,  and  professes  a  determination  to  be  a 
Christian  in  the  fufure. 

A  more  Christ-like  work  than  is  being  done  in  the  hospital 
it  were  not  easy  to  conceive,  for  Christ  it  was  Who  united 
the  preaching  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  with  the  healing  of 
the  sick.  Our  hospital  motto  is  "  He  sent  them  forth  to 
preach  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  to  heal  the  sick,"  and, 
according  to  the  ability  of  the  staff,  the  sick  are  healed, 
and  the  gospel  is  preached.  We  would  show  even  greater 
kindness  if  we  dare,  for  sometimes  it  is  hard  to  send  men 
home  to  die,  but  the  Chinese  are  very  superstitious,  and  a 
death  in  the  hospital  is  almost  enough  to  send  aU  the  patients 
home,  lest  the  ghost  of  the  departed  should  take  possession  of 
tl^em.  Moreover,  even  to  this  day  the  voice  of  scandal,  at 
rare  intervals,  whispers  wickedly.  This  we  are  gradually 
living  down,  and  the  day  will  dawn,  when  we  may  be  justi- 


MEDICAL   WORK  163 

fied  in  providing  a  room  where  "  hopeless  cases  "  may  die 
in  peace,  instead  of  their  being  turned  away  to  die  in 
miserable  surroundings. 

Great   things   have   already   been   done,   still  greater  lie 
before  us,  and  we  are  making  ready  for  them. 


XI 

OPIUM 

"  An  ungodly  man  diggeth  up  evil :  and  in  his  lips  there  is  as  a 
burning  fire." 

What  book  on  this  country  is  complete  that  does  not  refer 
to  "  China's  curse  and  England's  shame  ?  "  That  a  war  was 
fought  on  the  matter  which  came  to  be  known  as  the  Opium 
War,  proves  the  subject  to  be  of  no  small  magnitude,  and 
that  there  are,  to  this  day,  two  diametrically  opposed  views 
on  the  subject,  one  considering  the  trade  legitimate,  the  other 
iniquitous,  shows  that  there  is  still  room  for  the  statement 
of  another  man's  views  and  experiences.  Were  the  import 
limited  to  medicinal  requirements  controversy  would  at  once 
cease,  and  the  Anti-Opium  Society  have  no  further  reason 
for  existence.  But  no  one  believes  that  the  import  is  limited 
to  even  the  widest  notion  of  medical  requirement.  On  the 
contrary  it  is  generally  admitted  to  be  of  vast  and  far-reach- 
ing proportions. 

On  my  first  voyage  out  in  1882,  my  natural  prejudice 
against  the  trade  became  considerably  modified  by  the 
arguments  of  an  old  British  Consul,  who  was  a  fellow-passenger 
and  who  also  held  up  for  my  admiration,  because  he  had 
refused  to  sign  a  petition  against  the  traffic,  a  missionary  for 
whom  I  already  had  a  high  esteem.  This  missionary  after- 
wards became  my  very  close  friend,  and  I  learnt  that  the 
sole  cause  of  his  refusal  to  sign  arose,  not  from  lack  of  aversion 
to  the  drug,  which  he  abhorred  as  earnestly  as  those  who  had 
drawn  up  the  petition,  but  from  despair  of  the  petition's 
utility.  Since  then  I  have  listened  to  many  excuses  for  the 
trade — though  never  from  a  Missionary — not  one  oi  which 
was  not  an  accusation. 

a«4 


OPIUM  165 

Certainly  I  have  never  yet  met  a  Chinaman  who  expressed 
gratitude  for  the  introduction  of  the  drug,  nor  an  Enghshman, 
official,  merchant  or  missionary,  who  was  proud  of  Britain's 
share  in  the  transaction.  That  Chinaman  is  rarely  met  with 
who,  not  engaged  in  the  traffic  nor  enslaved  by  the  drug, 
would  not  favour  its  suppression  ;  so  also  is  that  Englishman 
who,  not  profiting  by  the  trade,  would  not  be  gratified  to 
see  our  Indian  Exchequer  replenished  from  a  less  questionable 
source.  Does  there  not  in  this  distaste  alone,  lie  sufficient 
cause  for  the  indictment  of  opium,  and  our  national  con- 
nection with  it  ? 

A  still  stronger  indictment,  however,  may  be  found  in  the 
fact  that  Japan,  beholding  the  debasing  influence  of  the  drug, 
so  near  her  own  doors,  rigorously  and  effectively  opposes  its 
promiscuous  sale  within  her  sea-girt  shores,  where  it  is  only 
obtainable  for  strictly  medicinal  purposes.  Even  Chinese 
residents  in  Japan  are  forbidden  its  use.  Not  only  so,  but 
on  taking  over  Formosa  after  the  war  of  1893-4,  where, 
under  Chinese  rule,  the  narcotic  had  previously  had  un- 
restrained scope  for  evil  amongst  the  large  Chinese  popula- 
tion, the  Japanese  immediately  brought  its  sale  under 
stringent  surveillance.  Every  Chinese  smoker  was  compelled 
to  take  out  a  permit,  no  Japanese  was  allowed  to  commence 
the  habit,  and  according  to  the  unbiassed  Report  of  the 
recent  United  States  Opium  Commission,  the  trade  is  in 
a  fair  way  towards  total  suppression. 

There  are  partisans  of  the  trade  who  declare  that  opium 
is  the  greatest  of  boons  to  the  Chinese  and  that,  without  it, 
their  lives  would  be  intolerable.  Such  men  forget  that  the 
Chinese  were  a  fine  and  flourishing  race  for  more  than  two 
thousand  years  before  the  advent  of  this  "  boon,"  and  that 
they  certainly  have  not  improved  since. 

On  the  other  hand  the  anti-opium  enthusiast  claims  that 
opium  is  the  deadliest  scourge  the  world  has  ever  known. 
He  surely  has  overlooked  the  ravages  of  war,  of  the  black 
death,  of  the  slave  traffic,  of  famine  and  consumption — 
and  yet,  after  all,  has  he  overlooked  them  ?  Certain  it  is 
that  the  drug  is  responsible  for  no  inappreciable  proportion 
of  the  annual  death-rate.  If  this  rate  be  taken  at  the  modest 
figure  of  thirty  per  thousand  per  annum,  and  if  opium  causes 


1 66  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

the  death  of  one  of  these  thirty,  then  is  opium  responsible 
for  a  mortality  of  four  hundred  thousand  every  year.  Even 
reduce  its  responsibility  to  one  per  cent  of  the  death-rate 
and  the  number  of  its  annual  victims  nearly  equals  the  total 
loss  of  both  Russians  and  Japanese  during  the  recent  war, 
enough  to  form  a  great  "  city  of  the  dead."  So,  perhaps, 
the  enthusiast  is  not  as  far  wrong  as  he  seems  to  be,  in  his 
"  wild  statement  "  that  opium  is  the  deadliest  scourge  the 
world  has  ever  known. 

No  figures  can  be  produced  from  any  authoritative  source, 
for  there  is  no  registrar  of  births  and  deaths  in  China,  and 
mere  surmise  is  an  unsafe  guide.  Yet  there  are  indications 
that  are  not  without  value,  and,  as  a  great  authority  says, 
"  Probability  is  the  guide  of  life."  For  instance,  in  this, 
one  of  the  thirteen  hundred  townships  of  China,  on  a  very 
low  estimate,  at  least  half  a  score  emaciated  wretches  die 
annually  in  the  streets,  and  if  such  can  be  taken  as  an  average 
for  the  whole  Empire,  thirteen  thousand  deaths  are  accounted 
for  in  this  way  alone.  Mr  Stobie  and  I  one  evening  passed 
two  such  victims  lying  side  by  side  in  the  street.  Approach- 
ing for  a  closer  inspection  some  passers-by  joined  us,  and  one 
of  them,  giving  the  younger  a  shake,  said  aloud,  "  Quite 
dead."  At  once  a  pitiful,  frightened  cry  burst  spasmodically 
from  the  dying  youth's  lips,  "  Wa-mi,  wa-mi,"  "  Not  yet, 
not  yet."  The  other  man  was  past  our  aid,  and,  discretion 
forbidding  our  domg  for  the  still  living  one  what  was  in  our 
hearts  to  do,  we  there  and  then,  sent  for  some  beggars,  gave 
them  enough  money  for  immediate  needs,  and  promised  if 
they  would  keep  the  youth  alive  for  thirty-six  hours  we 
would  pay  them  handsomely,  and  then  take  him  off  their 
hands  for  restoration  and  reformation.  It  was,  however, 
too  late  ;  he  died  the  same  night.  Only  a  few  years  before 
he  had  been  in  affluent  circumstances. 

It  is  probable  that  the  number  who  annually  commit 
suicide  with  the  drug,  is  much  more  than  double  the  number 
of  those  who  die  uncared  for  in  the  streets,  for  the  drug  is  so 
handy,  so  little  is  required,  "  only  thirty  cash,  a  penny's 
worth,"  from  the  "  black-smoke  hall "  round  the  corner. 
Again  the  number  of  those  who  are  not  reduced  to  a  death 
in  the  streets,  or  driven  to  suicide,  but  who,  nevertheless, 


OPIUM  167 

die  of  the  "  black-smoke  disease,"  or  "  opium  complaint " 
is  greater  still.  And  there  remains  a  mass  of  men,  women, 
and — in  Western  China — even  children  whose  strength  is 
so  sapped  by  the  loss  of  appetite  resulting  from  the  habit  that 
they  have  no  stamina  to  resist  disease,  and  yearly  swell 
enormously  the  list  of  victims.  As  to  the  infant,  and  even 
adult  mortality,  resulting  from  neglect  and  starvation,  it  is 
impossible  to  form  an  estimate.  Probabilities  are  all  that 
we  have  as  data,  but,  granted  their  reasonableness,  it  does 
not  seem  as  if  the  enthusiast  had  been  at  all  wrong  in  in- 
cluding War  in  his  accusation,  for  all  the  wars  of  the  world 
do  not  average  anything  like  a  death-rate  of  a  hundred 
thousand  a  year. 

These  figures  also  surpass  both  plague  and  famine,  since 
such  visitations  are  confined  to  a  few  dark  years,  whereas 
opium,  from  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  has  had 
a  continuous  responsibility.  Whether  it  surpasses  con- 
sumption we  have  no  criterion  for  comparison.  Enough  has, 
however,  been  said  to  show  that,  if  there  has  been  exaggera- 
tion, it  is  scarcely  on  the  part  of  the  antagonist  of  opium, 
but  rather  on  the  part  of  its  advocate,  who  declares  opium 
to  be  a  "  boon  "  to  the  Chinese. 

A  recent  racy  writer — he  went  through  China  at  a  good 
pace  ! — tells  us  that  he  nowhere  saw  the  emaciated  opium 
smokers,  whom  he  had  expected  to  meet  everjrwhere.  In 
like  manner,  two  years  ago  I  spent  three  months  in  England, 
travelling  from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other,  but  only 
twice  did  I  see  a  man  the  worse  for  liquor.  Am  I  therefore 
justified  in  inferring  that  drunkenness  is  practically  unknown 
in  England  ?  Photography  can  fabricate  much,  but  it  is 
not  easy  for  even  a  clever  photographer  to  fabricate  an 
emaciated  opium  smoker.  Yet  many  such  photographs  have 
been  published.  These  wrecks  are  here,  and  the  man  who 
can  see  the  difference  between  one  Chinaman  and  another 
will  not  fail  to  recognise  them. 

Let  it  not  be  thought,  however,  that  all  opium  smokers 
are  sots.  They  distinctly  are  not.  Most  begin  the  habit 
through  the  enticement  of  friends,  and  for  the  sake  of  com- 
panionship and  amusement,  but  some  commence  through 
illness,   and  those  who  suffer  from  bronchitis,  asthma,  or 


i68  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

severe  pain  undoubtedly  obtain  relief  from  its  administra 
tion.  I  know  men  who  have  been  smokers  for  decades, 
and  though  it  is  manifest  that  they  are  devotees  of  the  pipe, 
they  keep  alive  and  are  mentally  acute.  I  know  others  who 
being  wealthy  are  able  to  afford  appetising  food,  and  there- 
fore keep  up  their  appearance  after  thirty  years  of  smoking. 
But  such  is  not  the  rule,  for  the  majority  in  their  dull  pallid 
faces  soon  reveal  their  unfortunate  slavery  to  the  habit. 
While  therefore  it  is  not  fair  to  say  that  opium  ruins  all  who 
take  it,  neither  can  it  be  truly  said  that  the  majority  do  so 
without  suffering.  Rather  would  it  be  fair  to  assert,  that  it 
is  but  few  who  take  it  with  impunity,  that  the  majority 
suffer  physically,  and  that  to  a  great  multitude  opium  means 
financial  injury,  moral  degradation,  physical  debility,  and 
premature  death. 

The  rapidity  with  which  this  vicious  habit  took  hold  of 
the  people  during  the  nineteenth  century,  is  amazing  and 
incredible.  That  great  century,  with  all  its  glorious  record 
of  progress  throughout  the  rest  of  the  world,  was  the  century 
of  China's  greatest  degradation.  Not  until  that  "  wonderful 
century "  did  opium  stretch  its  vampire  wings  over  this 
devoted  Empire,  and  commence  to  drain  the  vitality  from 
its  veins  and  the  stamina  from  its  fibre. 

The  drug,  first  brought  to  China  by  the  Arabs  in  the  ninth 
century,  and  probably  known  on  the  Indo-Chinese  border 
long  before  that  date,  took  a  thousand  years  to  grow  from 
the  infinitesimal  quantity  first  introduced,  to  the  thousand 
chests  annually  imported  by  the  Portuguese  at  the  close  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  But  it  was  under  British  "  enter- 
prise "  that  the  trade  experienced  its  injurious  expansion. 
In  less  than  one  century,  under  British  commercial  energy, 
this  trifling  amount  grew  to  over  a  hundred  thousand  chests 
a  year.  So  that,  though  it  took  a  thousand  years  for  the 
drug  to  grow  to  a  thousand  chests,  it  took  less  than  a  hundred 
under  the  British,  to  increase  this  legitimate  quantity  to  the 
enormous  dimensions  of  a  hundred  thousand  chests  a  year. 
This  import  drains  from  China,  for  the  benefit  of  our  Indian 
treasury,  an  annual  sum  of  more  than  £10,000,000,  which 
is  as  great  a  loss  to  China  as  a  much  larger  sum  would  be  to 
England. 


- 

j 

1 

i — 

j        1 

OPIUM  169 

Can  it  be  wondered  then  that  the  nobler-spirited  amongst 
the  Chinese  rulers  resisted,  even  though  hopelessly,  all  re- 
cognition of  this  drug  as  an  article  of  commerce  ?  Had  they 
been  supported  by  the  southern  mandarins,  who  evidently 
would  have  sold  their  country,  or  their  souls,  for  a  bribe, 
the  constant  smuggling  in  of  the  poison  might  have  been 
prevented  during  its  earUer  stages.  Who,  for  instance,  wUl 
accuse  the  Emperor  Tao  Kuang  of  complicity,  when  on 
discovering  to  what  an  extent  the  illicit  trade  had  grown, 
he  ordered  Commissioner  Lin  to  demand  from  the  English 
merchants,  and  to  utterly  destroy,  all  the  opium  in  their 
warehouses,  valued  at  ;f2,ooo,ooo,  and  also  commanded  him 
to  remain  in  Canton,  till  the  whole  of  this  forbidden  article 
of  trade  was  finally  excluded  from  his  Empire  ?  He  it  was 
who,  untU  compelled  by  force  of  British  arms,  absolutely 
refused  to  receive  a  penny  from  the  degradation  of  his  people 
by  hcensing  the  importation.  And  while  recognising  the 
arbitrariness  of  the  Chinese  higher  officials  of  those  days, 
and  the  probability  of  a  collision  sooner  or  later,  every 
Christian  Englishman  must  deeply  regret  that  the  immediate 
cause  of  war  should  have  been  this  injurious  drug. 

As  to  Wenchow,  twenty-five  years  ago  opium  dens  were 
still  but  little  in  evidence.  They  hid  their  shamed  heads  up 
narrow  lanes  and  alley-ways.  To-day  all  this  is  changed, 
and  there  is  not  a  street  without  one.  Fourteen  years  ago 
I  was  requested  to  find  out  the  number  of  such  resorts,  and 
discovered  that  there  were  seven  or  eight  hundred  within 
our  city  walls.  Two  years  ago  exact  particulars  were  ob- 
tained which  showed  that  there  then  were  over  twelve 
hundred  licensed  houses,  or  one  for  every  hundred  of  the 
population,  women  and  children  included ;  in  other  words, 
one  to  every  thirty  of  the  male  adults. 

Perhaps,  however,  the  worst  phase  of  all,  the  final  step  in 
this  descensus  Averni  is  the  local  cultivation.  Twenty  years 
ago  the  poppy  was  not  much  in  evidence  hereabouts.  Now 
it  flaunts  its  gorgeous  robes  wherever  the  soil  admits  of  its 
growth.  Hence  the  Indian  product  is  now  a  declining  import, 
for  though  native  opium  is  not  so  well  prepared  as  Indian, 
the  disparity  in  price  is  so  great  that  only  the  wealthy  can 
afiord  the  "  foreign  earth." 


I/O  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

It  has  been  shown  in  another  part  of  this  book  what  a 
hindrance  the  cultivation  of  the  poppy  is  to  the  growth  of 
the  native  Church.  The  missionary  recognises  the  necessity 
of  maintaining  an  unwavering  attitude  towards  the  man  who 
dehberately  opens  an  opium  den,  or  who  is  in  any  way  a 
purveyor  of  the  drug,  as  the  man's  position  ranks  him  at 
once  along  with,  indeed  lower  than  a  maker  of  images  or  a 
seller  of  incense,  for  this  kind  of  "  covetousness  is  idolatry  " 
of  the  basest.  But  what  of  the  men,  hosts  of  them,  who  in 
consequence  of  enhanced  land-rents  cannot  make  ends  meet 
unless  they  grow  the  poppy  !  After  all  there  is  no  one  in  the 
world  with  greater  temptation  to  temporise  and  wink  at  the 
habit,  if  he  dare,  than  the  missionary. 

Opium  cultivation  has  within  recent  years  been  legalised, 
nor  can  we  blame  the  Chinese  for  taking  such  a  step,  as,  in 
view  of  the  drain  of  money  to  India,  either  this  or  national 
insolvency  seemed  to  face  them.  Moreover,  and  what  is 
worse,  familiarity  with  the  vice  had  hardened  what  little 
tenderness  was  still  left  in  the  official  conscience.  The  law, 
too,  against  cultivation  had  long  been  a  dead  letter.  Con- 
sequently, land  which  is  suited  to  the  poppy,  has  increased 
three  times  in  value,  for  a  mou  of  good  land  with  wheat  as 
the  spring  crop  gives  an  annual  return  of  about  $3  only, 
whereas  the  same  mou  put  under  poppy  as  its  spring  crop 
produces  $10  or  even  $20.  Also,  though  the  cost  of  tillage 
is  much  greater  for  poppy  than  for  wheat,  the  latter  impover- 
ishes the  land  for  the  summer  harvest  of  rice  or  maize,  while 
the  fertiliser  put  in  for  opium  enriches  it  for  the  next  sowing. 

Under  such  circumstances  what  is  the  would-be  Christian 
farmer  to  do  ?  Not  to  grow  poppy  but  only  wheat  and  rice  on 
land  for  which  the  owner  demands  the  rent  of  opium  land, 
makes  all  the  difference  between  comfort  and  perhaps  semi- 
starvation,  not  only  for  himself  but  for  his  family.  Some  of 
our  people  are  devoted  enough  to  bear  the  loss,  though  it  is  a 
daily  cross.  Others,  and  not  a  few,  have  gone  back  to  opium 
growing  even  after  baptism.  It  has  been  questioned  by  some 
whether  we  are  justified  in  laying  so  heavy  a  burden  on  the 
consciences  of  our  converts,  but  one  has  to  remember  that 
the  Church  is  now,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  the  principal 
protestant  against  the  abuse  of  this  drug,  and  some  firm 


OPIUM  171 

stand  it  must  make,  for  it  cannot  afford  to  be  invertebrate 
in  a  matter  that  affects  the  hfe  of  this  nation,  and  indeed 
of  itself. 

Being  young  and  inexperienced,  I  fifteen  years  ago  estab- 
lished a  Refuge  for  opium  smokers.  Youth  and  inexperience, 
like  the  goodwill  of  a  business,  are  often  important  items  in 
the  ledger  of  progress.  Would  that  they  always  stood  on 
the  same  side  of  the  page,  and  did  not  skip  from  column 
to  column  so  readily  !  In  this  particular  case  they  proved 
a  distinct  asset,  for  many  churches  were  established  in  con- 
sequence, and  a  large  number  of  people  brought  under  the 
influence  of  that  greatest  of  all  Guides  to  Progress,  the 
Gospel. 

A  man  of  education  who  had  wasted  his  patrimony  on  the 
narcotic,  and  whose  gaunt  frame,  dull  eye,  pallid  face,  and 
unwashed  clothes  proclaimed  full  plainly  his  degradation, 
caUed  one  day,  and  asked  me  to  cure  him.  I  told  him  I  was 
inexperienced  in  this  sort  of  work,  but  he  was  persistent  in 
submitting  himself  to  my  tender  mercies.  Assured  that 
faith  was  the  best  cure  I  urged  him  to  prayer,  and,  in  order 
to  support  his  physical  strength,  dosed  him  with  quinine 
as  a  tonic  three  times  a  day.  He  suffered,  of  course,  but  in 
ten  days  was  free  from  his  twenty  years'  thraldom,  and 
being  a  man  of  strong  will,  and  having  given  himself  to  God, 
he  has  remained  free  ever  since.  Others  came  about  the  same 
time,  and  soon  it  was  necessary  to  appoint  a  native  Christian, 
a  man  outspoken  and  blunt,  but  earnest  in  prayer,  to  take 
charge  of  the  patients.  Later,  our  premises  became  too 
smaU  and  a  special  set  of  sleeping  rooms  was  erected,  which 
were  afterwards  turned  into  our  first  hospital,  as  recorded 
in  the  preceding  chapter.  Our  methods  were  distinctly 
Spartan,  and  in  consequence  some  of  the  patients  suffered 
two  or  three  days  of  severe  distress  and  nearly  died  on  our 
hands,  but,  so  far  as  we  know,  all  went  home  cured.  No 
record  was  kept  after  the  first  few  months,  but  three  or  four 
hundred  passed  through  our  little  refuge. 

It  was  part  of  our  method  to  impress  on  the  patient,  that 
unless  he  became  truly  converted  there  was  little  likehhood 
of  his  remaining  free  from  re-enslavement.  And  the  future 
history  of  the  patients  proved  that  our  teaching  was  correct, 


172  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

for  unhappily  nearly  all  of  whom  we  afterwards  received 
news  went  back  to  the  drug.  A  few.  however,  became  con- 
verts, and  were  very  helpful  in  spreading  the  gospel. 

I  have  told  in  Chapter  IV.  of  the  cure  of  some  men  from 
Crystal  Lily,  and  how  they  were  the  means  of  opening  up 
a  very  important  work  there,  which  has  since  been  divided 
into  two  circuits.  Alas  !  every  one  even  of  these  went  back 
to  the  drug.  One  of  them  set  up  as  a  curer  of  the  enslaved, 
but  soon  himself  fell  back  into  its  chains.  He  bitterly 
repented,  and  later  cured  himself  again,  but  his  health  gave 
way,  and  he  soon  afterwards  died,  penitent  and  urging  his 
sons  to  be  faithful  Christians.  The  other  three  were  cured 
and  re-cured,  and  of  the  two  who  still  live,  one  con- 
tinues to  spend  his  hard-earned  money  three  times  a 
day  in  the  "  black-smoke  house  "  !  He  attends  services 
regularly,  but  neither  our  sternest  rebukes  nor  our  ten- 
derest  persuasions,  though  added  to  the  earnest  solicitations 
of  his  son  who  is  a  local  preacher,  have  availed  to  make  a 
man  of  him. 

Of  the  number  reclaimed  in  those  days,  about  half  a  dozen 
became  preachers  or  local  preachers.  Some  of  them  after- 
wards fell  away  to  their  old  habit,  but  others  have  remained 
firm  and  are  still  bearing  faithful  witness,  amongst  whom 
is  the  B.A.  pastor  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter.  As  to 
the  refuge,  our  method  proved  too  drastic,  or,  rather,  a  method 
less  rigorous  was  introduced  by  Chinese  vendors,  in  the 
shape  of  tiny  morphia  pills.  By  the  use  of  these  a  man 
could  cure  himself  by  degrees,  so  he  was  told,  without  any 
inconvenience,  and  without  the  necessity  of  leaving  his 
home  or  his  work  for  a  ten  days'  imprisonment.  That  some 
found  this  method  effective  is  quite  true,  but  it  is  feared 
the  majority  added  the  vice  of  morphia-eating  to  that  of 
opium-smoking,  so  that  "  the  last  state  of  that  man  was 
worse  than  the  first.'  Our  opium  refuge  died  calmly  and 
peacefully,  nor  was  I  sorry  to  be  relieved  of  the  labour  and 
anxiety,  as  country  work  was  opening  up  which  took  me  much 
away  from  home. 

Let  it  not  be  thought,  however,  that  the  work  amongst 
opium-smokers  has  been  allowed  permanently  to  lapse. 
The  advent  of  men  with  better  qualifications  meant  the  advent 


OPIUM  173 

of  milder  methods  of  treatment,  and  now  the  sufferings  of 
the  penitent  are  much  mitigated.  Nevertheless,  it  is  a 
despair-provoking  work,  for,  on  the  least  provocation,  most 
of  these  men  fly  straight  back  to  the  pipe.  Have  they  a 
pain  in  the  head,  in  the  stomach,  in  the  toe  ? — then,  just 
a  pipe  to  relieve  it.  Many  of  them  do  not  wait  for  the  actual 
pain,  the  mere  possibility  is  enough  ;  they  are  on  the  verge 
of  it, — just  a  pipe  as  a  preventive.  Tropical  climates  are 
notably  enervating  ;  the  Hindoo  squatting  on  his  lean  hams, 
the  Chinaman  fast  asleep  on  the  parapet  of  a  bridge,  his 
closed  eyes  towards  the  blazing  sun,  the  white-clad  English- 
man full  stretch  in  his  long  cane  chair,  all  tell  the  invertebrate 
condition  of  the  Orient, — but  what  a  feeling  of  lightness  a 
whiff  of  the  drug  temporarily  inspires  in  the  devotee  !  All 
his  pains  and  anticipations  of  pain  are  gone,  the  collapsing 
frame  is  strung  together  again, — to  be  followed,  of  course, 
by  the  gnawing  of  many  fiends  a  few  hours  later,  if  no  drug 
can  be  had  ;  but  at  least  there  is  a  temporary  heaven.  No 
wonder  the  victims  go  back  to  their  drug ;  no  wonder 
they  even  try  to  secrete  opium  or  morphia  pills  when  they 
come  in  to  be  treated  ;  no  wonder  they  endeavour  to  sneak 
out  of  the  gate  at  the  onset  of  discomfort,  or  try  to  scale 
the  walls  at  night,  or  even  secretly  open  the  gate  and  run  off, 
leaving  all  they  brought  behind  them,  and — carrying  off  the 
hospital  clothes  ! 

Yet  there  are  cases  of  great  determination,  and  men  who 
are  willing  to  die  rather  than  fail.  These  generally  are  men 
already  converted  and  yearning  to  shake  off  the  last  of  the 
devil's  chains.  One  such  declined  to  come  into  hospital, 
saying  that  if  Christianity  were  true,  then  God  could  cure 
him  in  his  own  home.  When  the  agony  was  on  him  and  he 
rolled,  bathed  in  sweat,  upon  the  ground,  his  wife  brought 
him  a  pipe  begging  him  to  find  relief  and  save  his  hfe.  This 
man  was  the  last  scion  of  a  wealthy  family,  but  three 
generations  of  opium-smoking  had  squandered  all  their 
possessions,  and  now  his  only  pair  of  cotton  trousers 
conspicuously  indicated  that  a  washing  necessitated  half 
a  day  in  bed. 

"  Ah  Ling's  mother !  "  he  said  to  his  wife,  when  she 
proffered  him  the  pipe,  "  If  I  take  that  pipe  again,  it  will 


174  A  MISSION  JN  CHINA 

not  be  long  before  I  shall  be  selling  the  boys,  and  you  also, 
to  get  more  opium,  If  I  am  to  die  it  is  better  I  should  die 
now.     Take  the  pipe  away." 

He  did  not  die  but  lived  to  be  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel. 
He  is  a  well-educated  man  and  clever,  but  his  opium-smoking 
years  have  left  him  physically  inert.  The  churches  he  has 
been  sent  to,  while  liking  the  man,  dislike  his  incorrigible 
laziness.  Knowing  this  he  has  recently  resigned,  and  taken 
over  the  control  of  a  number  of  schools  started  by  the  gentry 
of  his  neighbourhood.  We  look  with  misgivings  on  his 
return  to  the  society  of  his  old  comrades,  and  fear  much  they 
may  yet  drag  him  back  into  the  blackness  of  night. 

Another  case  of  great  determination  is  that  of  the  son  of 
a  well-to-do  old  gentleman  whose  house  I  visited  last  month. 
Though  eighty  years  of  age  the  old  man  is  still  able  to  walk 
over  twenty  miles  a  day.  His  son,  a  man  of  forty-five,  heard 
the  gospel  a  few  years  ago,  and  decided  to  become  a  Christian 
and  cut  off  his  opium.  He  was  on  his  way  to  the  city  to  be 
cured,  when  he  met  an  old  friend  who  was  an  attender  at 
our  services.  Tiiis  friend,  being  engaged  in  curing  opium- 
smokers,  induced  him  to  go  to  his  house  for  that  purpose. 
When  the  cure  was  nearly  complete,  suddenly,  without 
warning,  the  poor  fellow  passed  away  to  where  there  are  no 
more  opium  allurements.  His  relatives  naturally  put  down 
his  death  to  the  treatment,  and  were  on  the  point  of  starting 
— a  couple  of  hundred  strong — to  destroy  the  friend's  house, 
when  the  old  father  succeeded  in  dissuading  them. 

This  loss  was  a  great  grief  to  me,  for  I  had  many  talks  with 
the  deceased  man,  who  spent  some  time  here  learning  the 
rudiments  of  Christianity,  and  whose  influence  would  certainly 
have  opened  our  way  into  a  new  district.  Just  when  this 
opening,  by  this  untoward  circumstance,  seemed  closed,  to 
my  surprise  and  pleasure  I  received  a  visit  from  the  octo- 
genarian father.  Mourning  with  him  his  grievous  loss,  he 
answered  calmly  and  with  dignity,  "  It  is  the  will  of  God." 
To  my  even  greater  astonishment,  he  begged  that  we  would 
send  a  preacher  to  his  home,  to  hold  weekly  services  for  his 
household  and  neighbours,  and  though  our  entry  seemed 
unpropitious  I  gladly  accepted  the  old  man's  invitation. 

Two  years  passed,   and  his  elder  grandson,   who   in   the 


OPIUM  175 

meantime  had  come  under  the  influence  of  our  preaching, 
visited  the  city,  and  desired  also  to  be  cured  of  the  opium 
habit.  Both  father  and  son  were  well-built,  broad-shouldered 
men,  while  the  sturdy  old  grandfather  had  been  a  well- 
known  pugilist  in  his  day.  The  stalwart  appearance  of  the 
young  man,  who  was  just  over  thirty,  argued  everything  in 
his  favour,  and  we  saw  no  reason  why  he  should  not  be 
treated,  though  his  wife  for  months  had  refused  to  allow  him 
to  come,  lest  he,  too,  should  die  like  his  father.  At  last  she 
tearfully  yielded  and  he  came,  was  treated  and  cured  by  Dr 
Hogg. 

At  the  time  I  was  holding  a  Bible  class  for  local  preachers, 
and  this  man  very  ardently  longed  to  join  us.  He  was 
sufficiently  recovered  to  do  so  before  our  session  was  half  over, 
but  being  desirous  of  relieving  his  wife's  anxiety,  he  decided 
that  his  first  duty  was  to  go  home  and  show  himself  to  her, 
before  satisfying  his  desire  to  meet  in  our  class.  He  accord- 
ingly set  off,  and  made  the  journey,  which  took  him  two 
long  days.  Great  were  the  rejoicings  at  home,  but  he  would 
not  stay,  and  immediately  set  out  on  the  two  days'  return 
journey  to  be  present  at  our  class.  Most  attentive  and 
intelligent  was  he,  for,  having  received  a  fair  education,  he 
was  able  to  follow  the  instruction  given  with  profit. 

Never  shall  I  forget  the  fatal  night  three  or  four  days  after 
his  arrival.  The  day  had  been  insufferably  oppressive,  the 
air  was  laden  with  warm  moisture,  the  clouds  hung  low,  yet 
the  sun  pierced  through  with  shafts  of  fire,  perspiration 
lay  thick  on  everybody's  brow,  and  one  would  have  given 
much  for  a  breath  of  wind.  Heavy  had  been  the  counten- 
ances of  the  members  of  my  class,  many  the  struggles  to 
keep  the  attention  fixed,  and  with  none  more  so  than  with 
our  ex-opium  smoker.  Night  came,  still  with  the  same 
unbreathable  air.  The  young  men  lay  down  to  sleep  in  the 
rooms  provided,  the  ex-opium  smoker  in  the  same  room  with 
two  others,  who  themselves  had  formerly  been  in  bondage 
to  the  habit.  They  thought  he  fell  asleep,  for  his  breathing 
was  heavy,  but  they  themselves  were  still  wakeful.  Before 
long,  however,  his  heavy  breathing  suddenly  ceased  ;  hearing 
no  soimd  and  becoming  suspicious,  one  of  them  called  to  him 
without  receiving  an  answer.     They  Ut  the  lamp  and  came 


176  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

to  his  side :  his  breathing  had  completely  stopped  and  he 
lay  there  unconscious,  nor  did  their  best  efforts  arouse  him. 
In  great  trepidation  they  ran  across  the  road  and  roused  me, 
and  along  with  the  Doctor  I  hastened  to  his  bedside.  Alas  ! 
he  was  gone  beyond  recaU. 

How  were  we  to  break  the  news  to  the  old  grandfather  ! 
His  only  son  gone,  his  grandson  gone,  and  now  nothing  left 
but  a  young  grandson,  a  mere  boy  far  from  robust.  And 
how  were  we  to  break  the  news  to  the  poor  wife,  who  had 
pleaded  with  tears  that  he  would  not  give  up  the  habit,  and 
whose  premonitions  had  been  only  too  fully  realised ! 

Special  messengers  were  sent ;  his  relatives  came,  glum, 
dour,  dark-visaged.  They  took  away  the  poor  body,  and 
our  hearts  were  sore.  Now  at  last  our  little  work  at  Wu-Yoa 
was  surely  at  an  end,  and  our  anticipations  only  coincided 
with  the  words  of  a  letter  then  written  me  by  our  native 
pastor  "  Summer,"  that  this  second  catastrophe  had  cer- 
tainly dealt  the  death-blow  to  our  work  there.  But  no, 
before  many  days  were  past  the  brave,  trusting  old  man  sent 
up  a  pleading  message  that  now,  above  all,  we  would  not 
leave  them  to  their  fate,  that  now,  especially,  if  the  Gospel 
were  to  be  made  known,  a  preacher  was  regularly  required, 
and  we  thanked  God  for  such  faith. 

Some  months  afterwards  I  met  the  fine  old  man  at  Rainbow 
Bridge,  to  which  he  had  walked  fifteen  miles  over  the  moun- 
tains to  see  me.  He  again  urged  their  needs,  and  thanked 
me  earnestly  for  all  my  kindness  to  his  son  and  grandson, 
insisting  at  the  same  time,  in  recouping  me  for  expense  to 
which  I  had  been  put,  in  providing  the  coffin  and  cerements 
for  his  grandson.  "  My  wife  died  suddenly  in  like  manner," 
he  said,  "  long  before  we  knew  anything  about  Christianity. 
It  is  the  will  of  God,  and  not  a  visitation,  for  our  becoming 
Christians  as  some  would  have  us  believe."  Soon  after  this 
he  was  at  his  own  request  baptised,  and  last  month  the 
heart-broken  widow,  though  for  long  she  had  resisted  and 
resented  us,  spoke  gently  and  submissively  to  my  wife  when 
we  met  her  for  the  first  time,  on  our  visit  to  this  district. 

Such  is  some  of  the  shade  and  shine  of  Opium  work.  The 
blight  of  a  great  curse  is  on  this  land,  which  is  wilting  under 
its  fierce  and  destroying  greed.     Sad  we  are  as  we  gaze  over 


OPIUM  177 

the  gorgeous  fields,  gaudy  with  their  painted  Delilah  charms, 
that  end  as  with  her  in  blinded  vision  and  tottering  pillars 
of  home  and  happiness.  Sad  we  are  that  our  beloved  land, 
however  unintentionally,  should  have  had  so  melancholy  a 
part  in  the  degradation  of  millions  of  this  people,  a  part, 
when  the  sum  of  earthly  misery  is  finally  added  up,  that  will 
strike  remorse  to  the  hearts  of  those  who  have  profited 
thereby,  a  remorse  greater  even  than  that  of  those  who  made 
their  wealth  by  the  accursed  slave  trade. 

At  this  late  hour  what  can  England  do  ?  There  is  but  one 
reply  for  honourable  men.  Stop  the  trade.  Stop  the  growth 
in  India,  save  for  medicinal  purposes.  Stop  its  transport 
in  British  ships.  But  other  nations  will  then  carry  it ! 
Where  would  they  obtain  it  to  carry  ?  Other  places  would 
grow  it.  Let  them  !  We  have  had  our  fill  of  shame.  Oh  1 
Christian  England !     What  would  Pagan  Japan  do  ? 


XII 
EDUCATIONAL 

"  Buy  the  truth  and  sell  it  not ;  also  wisdom,  and  instruction,  and 
understandin  g. " 

Until  the  present  century  China  followed  the  old  learning, 
and  resolutely  turned  her  face  from  modern  teaching.  But 
during  the  closing  decade  of  the  last  century  a  voice  was 
heard  in  the  wilderness,  crying  with  ever  increasing  per- 
sistency, for  something  more  vitalising  than  the  dead  things 
of  the  past.  Seven  years  ago  the  cry  intensified  and  pene- 
trated to  the  "  Dragon  Throne  "  with  imperious  demand. 
The  youthful  Emperor  heard  and,  weak  though  his  party 
was,  bravely  responded,  with  the  result  that  he  found  himself 
imprisoned  by  the  Empress  Dowager  and  her  supporters, 
and  his  power  suspended.  Nevertheless  the  Voice  would 
not  be  silenced.  Neither  decapitation  nor  torture  could 
stifle  it,  for  the  headless  bodies  of  the  seven  young  "  martyrs  " 
still  cried  aloud  from  the  ground.  At  last  even  the  Empress 
Dowager,  the  would-be  destroyer  of  the  Occident  and  all 
its  works,  has  been  compelled  to  listen  and  respond. 

Though  the  Voice  would  probably  disclaim  the  fact,  the 
silent  but  impelling  Power  behind  it  was  Christianity.  For 
fifty  years  missionaries  had  been  founding  schools  and  colleges, 
and  had  been  publishing  books,  wisely  and  otherwisely,  but 
always  enlightening.  Fifteen  years  ago  a  Society  with  a 
clumsy  name,  "  The  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Christian 
and  General  Knowledge  amongst  the  Chinese,"  was  formed, 
and  it  has  played  a  powerful  part  in  unconsciously  training 
the  Voice  to  cry.  Its  illuminating  publications  have  been 
borne  to  the  confines  of  the  Empire,  In  palace,  yamen, 
college,  and  home,  its  books  and  its  monthly  magazines 
have  been  read  with  avidity,  by  those  who  saw  the  peril  of 

1,8 


EDUCATIONAL  179 

their  fatherland,  and  recognised  that  the  eagles  were  gathered 
only  because  the  giant  carcase  was  itself  on  the  point  of 
disintegration. 

And  the  Voice  cried  with  a  loud  cry,  hardly  knowing  why 
or  for  what  it  cried.  And  the  cry  was  heard,  could  not  but 
be  heard,  for  though  the  Voice  was  the  Voice  of  the  Orient, 
the  lungs  were  the  lungs  of  the  West.  The  cry  has  been 
heard,  and  the  comatose  giant  is  on  his  feet,  still  rubbing 
his  eyes,  wondering  where  he  is  and  what  has  awakened  him, 
but  on  his  feet  he  is,  no  longer  unconscious  with  the  sleeping 
sickness  of  death. 

The  Government  Colleges  throughout  the  Empire  are 
undergoing  revision.  Universities  have  already  been  estab- 
lished, an  entire  change  of  curriculum  is  taking  place,  and 
the  whole  stream  of  education  is  being  diverted  from  the 
old,  narrow  channel  into  one  deeper  and  broader.  The 
dead  level  is  being  changed  for  a  steeper  gradient,  and  though 
there  are  in  the  rushing  river  rocks  that  were  not  found  in 
the  stagnant  canal,  rocks  never  yet  stopped  a  flowing  stream. 
Many  is  the  river  that,  midway  to  its  outlet  is  sucked  dry 
by  the  level  sands  ;  even  Jordan's  stream  never  reaches  the 
free  and  open  main,  but  is  swallowed  up  by  the  dead  waters 
of  Asphalites.  Far  better  the  rugged  rocks  of  Knowledge 
than  the  arid  desert  of  platitude,  into  which  this  giant  has 
been  draining  his  mental  energy  for  ages  past. 

Often  had  the  Voice  called  and  called  in  vain,  for  the  giant 
rolled  over  once  more,  in  his  death-like  slumber  murmuring 
curses  against  the  disturber.  But  the  year  igoo,  the  year 
of  his  deepest  slumber,  became  also  the  year  of  his  rudest 
awakening.  Then,  the  seven  nations  united  their  voices 
into  a  truly  "  horrid  din,"  and  the  aroused  giant  was  fain 
to  discover  that  the  despised  barbarian  possessed  something 
he  himself  lacked, — even  if  it  were  only  strength  of  lung  to 
shout  "  Sheo,"  "  Learn,"  from  the  midst  of  a  roar  of, — was 
it  only  cannon,  or  was  it  Heaven's  insistent  Thunder  ! 

Great  was  the  step  forward  taken  by  Dr  Alexander  William- 
son of  the  Scotch  United  Presbyterian  Mission,  when  in  his 
old  age  he  left  the  ordinary  tenor  of  a  missionary's  life  to- 
do  a  greater  mission  work  in  establishing  the  Society  above- 
named,   now   known   as   the   Christian   Literature   Society. 


i8o  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

Well  was  it  also  for  China,  when  Dr  Faber  of  the  German 
Rhenish  Mission  joined  him,  and  left  preaching  with  his  Ups 
to  a  few,  for  more  effective  preaching  with  his  cyclopaedic  pen 
to  the  many  ;  when  also  Dr  Young  J.  Allen,  of  the  Ameri- 
can Southern  Methodist  Mission,  left  the  teaching  of  his  large 
school  of  Chinese  youths,  to  join  in  teaching  a  vaster  school 
of  adult  educated  Chinese  with  his  powerful  Universal 
Magazine ;  when,  later,  on  the  death  of  Dr  Williamson, 
Dr  Timothy  Richard,  of  the  English  Baptist  Mission,  not 
knowing  whither  he  went,  was  led  forth  by  the  Great  Ordainer, 
from  the  superintendence  of  the  important  work  he  had 
founded  in  Shansi,  to  the  organisation  and  extension  of  this 
Society's  greater  work.  Now,  responsive  to  its  call,  the 
Church  Missionary  Society,  the  London  Mission,  the  Wesleyan 
Mission,  the  China  Inland  Mission,  the  Canadian  Presby- 
terian, and  other  Missions  have  each  segregated  a  man,  to 
assist  in  giving  to  the  Chinese  that  light  on  the  heavens  and 
the  earth,  which  has  become  visible  to  man  through  Him 
Who  is  the  Light  of  both  Heaven  and  Earth,  and  without 
Whom  the  great  Riddle  of  the  Universe  remains  unsolved. 

Great  also  has  been  the  work  of  the  Christian  Colleges 
scattered  throughout  the  Empire,  and  short-sighted  the 
policy  of  those  Missions  which  were  only  prepared  to  give 
part,  and  not  all,  that  lay  within  their  power.  If  the  Mis- 
sionary Professor  had  not  been  toiling  quietly  and  patiently 
through  long  years  of  self-denial,  then  might  the  Literature 
Society  have  vainly  shouted,  even  with  throat  of  brass.  If 
the  Missionary  Educationalist  had  not  prepared  a  regiment 
of  teachers,  all  too  few,  alas,  for  the  work  for  which  they  are 
now  feverishly  sought,  then  might  the  throat  of  brass  have 
burst  for  any  good  it  would  have  done.  But  the  toil  of  the 
Missionary  Teacher, — mostly  from  America  and  not  from 
England, — has  been  a  toil  of  ploughing  and  sowing  in  virgin 
soil,  and  the  first  crop  is  being  heavily  reaped. 

From  whence  are  the  National  Colleges  to  obtain  teachers 
for  their  "  modern  side,"  save  from  the  Mission  Schools,  and 
on  what  model  is  the  native  effort  after  a  reformed  education 
to  be  shaped,  save  on  that  of  the  existing  Christian  Colleges  ? 
These  are  the  only  models  in  China.  Consequently,  to  these 
more  applications  for  native  teachers  and  directors  have  been 


EDUCATIONAL  i8i 

made  than  could  be  satisfied.  Some  of  those  sent  out  are 
Christians,  and  all  have  been  too  much  accustomed  to  the 
luxury  of  the  Christian  Sabbath  to  give  it  up.  So,  on  joining 
the  Government  Schools,  they  have  demanded  this  one  day's 
rest  in  seven,  nor  have  they  demanded  in  vain,  for  the  Sunday, 
an  unheard-of  institution  ten  years  ago,  is  now,  marvel  of 
marvels,  a  recognised  day  of  rest  in  educational  circles 
throughout  China.  Herein  we  have  the  second  step  in  the 
adoption  of  the  Sabbath  by  this  country,  the  first  having 
long  ago  been  taken  by  the  poor  and  needy,  who  gave  their 
faithful  hearts  and  humble  lives  to  Christ,  when  to  observe 
the  Sabbath  meant  loss  of  a  day's  wages,  and  often  physical 
deprivation. 

Not  content  with  this,  in  a  number  of  places,  north  and 
south, — and  most  remarkable  of  all,  the  Imperial  Capital 
included, — numbers  of  idols  have  been  pulled  down  from 
their  ancient  seats,  and  removed  or  destroyed,  in  order  that 
the  purged  temples  might  be  transformed  into  schoolrooms 
for  Higher  Education.  Our  eyes  indeed  see  wondrous  sights, 
and  our  ears  hear  wondrous  tidings. 

Referring  to  our  educational  and  general  work  in  Wenchow, 
a  lady  well  acquainted  with  mission  work  elsewhere,  was  good 
enough  to  say  a  short  time  ago,  "  What  has  struck  me  in  the 
methods  of  your  Mission  is,  that  you  first  got  your  work 
together,  and  erected  your  buildings  afterwards."  It  had 
not  occurred  to  us  that  there  was  any  other  sensible  plan,  or 
we  might  have  desired  to  adopt  it !  Not  that  such  a  desire 
would  have  been  any  use,  for,  financially,  we  have  never 
suffered  temptation  greater  than  we  weie  able  to  bear. 
Hence,  we  can  take  no  credit  for  not  erecting  big  establish- 
ments first,  and  trying  to  fill  them  afterwards.  Our  method 
was  the  accident  of  our  indigence,  but  the  so-called  "  flukes  " 
of  life  often  add  more  to  the  score  than  the  best  planned 
strokes. 

Our  educational  work  in  Wenchow  began  with  very  small 
things.  A  school  of  half  a  score  small  boys,  whose  parents 
braved  obloquy  and  sent  them  to  us,  because  there  were  no 
fees  to  pay  ;  a  little  schoolmaster  simple  and  mild  ;  a  small 
outbuilding,  and  a  few  stools  and  tables, — such  was  our 
earliest  outfit,  and  such  it  remained  for  twenty  years.    Some 


1 82  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

of  the  boys  are  now  making  good  incomes  far  away  from 
Wenchow,  and  will  return  in  years  to  come ;  moreover,  as 
the  years  grow  on  them,  most  of  them  will  want  that  about 
which  they  learnt  as  children,  but  which  the  cares  of  the 
world  and  the  deceitfulness  of  silver  have  temporarily 
eclipsed. 

What  those  boys  learnt  they  learnt  after  the  old  fashion. 
Each  sat  perched  high  up  on  his  little  stool,  dangling  little 
legs  through  which  pins  and  needles  often  coursed  gaily. 
Lifting  his  shrill  voice,  he  shouted  on  to  the  cylinder  of  his 
own  and  everybody  else's  memory,  the  lesson  appointed  him 
to  learn.  His  own,  and  the  shouts  of  his  competitor's  in 
vocal  energy,  were  punctuated  at  short  intervals  by  sharp 
corrections  from  the  little  schoolmaster.  How  the  master 
discriminated  between  the  various  voices,  books,  chapters, 
verses  and  words  of  his  score  or  more  pupils  always  puzzled 
me.  Of  class  teaching,  there  was  none  in  all  China,  until 
introduced  by  missionaries.  All  was  individual  teaching, 
which,  indeed,  has  many  advantages  for  the  few,  when  it 
does  not  also  mean  individual  neglect,  as  is  often  the  case  in 
Chinese  schools. 

The  Child's  Primer,  or  "  Ignorant  Enquirer,"  was  the  first 
book  put  into  the  scholar's  hands,  and  through  its  dreary 
pages  he  stumbled,  keeping  his  feet  as  best  as  he  could,  aided 
by  many  a  resounding  blow  on  knuckles  or  head  from  the 
benevolent  old  master's  ferule.  The  ferule  was  square  and 
hard,  and  with  it  he  toughened  his  own  tender  heart,  and  his 
scholars'  tender  heads  for  the  rough  warfare  of  life.  If  he 
raised  no  other  at  least  he  sent  them  away  with  an  enlarged 
bump  of  reverence.  The  boy's  sole  duty  was  to  learn  his 
book  by  rote,  so  as  to  recognise  the  mere  names  of  the  char- 
acters. Later,  if  he  remained  long  enough,  he  was  taught 
the  meaning  of  each  character,  much  as  an  English  boy  learns 
and  repeats  his  Latin  vocabulary,  but  knows  not  how  to  use  it. 

This  Primer  is  sometimes  known  as  the  Small  History,  for 
it  treats  of  the  history  of  the  world,  namely  China,  from 
the  very  beginning.  Its  opening  phrases  are,  "  Before  the 
primordial  elements  were  disentangled,  all  was  one  chaotic 
vapour  (ether).  The  clear  and  the  turbid  began  to  separate, 
and  the  upper  and  the  lower  to  take  their  respective  places. 


EDUCATIONAL  183 

The  light  and  clear  became  heaven,  the  heavy  and  turbid 
became  the  earth.  Between  the  two  came  man,  and  all  the 
myriads  of  (living)  things,  but  man  was  born  to  be  the  wisest 
among  them.  His  physical  nature  had  desires,  and  what  he 
could  not  otherwise  obtain  he  fought  for,  the  strong  wrestled 
with  each  other  for  mastery,  and  the  people  suffered  oppres- 
sion. Without  the  establishment  of  a  Prince,  how  could  the 
people  obtain  rest  ?  So  heaven  produced  Fu-she,  the  first 
who  came  forth  to  rule  the  earth.  He  it  was  who  discovered 
the  divining  lines,  and  moreover  invented  writing." 

Here  follows  a  brief  account  of  the  mythological  period, 
lasting  "  seventeen  thousand  years,"  and  then  comes  more 
or  less  valid  history  of  the  various  dynasties,  from  B.C.  3000 
to  the  present  times.  The  little  book  contains  in  all  less  than 
a  thousand  words,  many  of  which  are  very  complicated,  and, 
as  the  book  is  in  rhyme,  and  the  historical  allusions  many, 
it  requires  a  man  of  education  to  understand  it.  There  is 
little  meat  on  these  bones  for  a  child  of  five  ;  hence  it  is 
deemed  enough  that  he  read  the  letters,  without  attempting 
to  "  learn  and  inwardly  digest  "  the  meaning. 

As  an  incentive  to  filial  piety,  which  is  the  definite  article 
in  the  Chinaman's  religion,  the  top  of  each  page  is  adorned 
with  a  crude  sketch,  showing  an  instance  of  filial  devotion. 
Here  is  a  picture  of  the  youth  whose  parents  could  not  afford 
a  mosquito  curtain,  and  who  therefore  every  evening  used 
to  strip  himself  naked,  lie  on  his  parents'  bed,  and  tempt 
the  greedy  mosquitoes  to  gorge  themselves  on  his  more 
enticing  flesh,  so  that  his  parents  might  rest  in  peace.  On 
another  page  is  a  print  of  a  boy  whose  mother  was  ill  and 
needed  some  fish  ;  but  it  was  winter,  and  the  water  covered 
with  thick  ice.  He  had  no  firewood  to  thaw  a  hole,  and  his 
mother  must  have  fish  ;  so  he  placed  his  own  naked  body 
on  the  ice,  and  there  remained  until  a  hole  was  thawed 
through  ;  whereupon  a  fish,  filled  with  admiration  for  such 
piety,  sacrificed  itself  by  jumping  out  of  the  hole,  and  allowing 
itself  to  be  unresistingly  captured.  On  yet  another  page  is 
shown  how  a  certain  youth,  finding  that  human  flesh  was  a 
necessary  ingredient  in  a  dose  of  medicine  ordered  for  his 
parent,  immediately  supplied  it  from  his  own  body,  and, 
let  me  add,  I  have  met  a  man  who  actually  did  this  for  his 


1 84  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

parents.  With  such  gruesome  incentives  to  fihal  piety 
(instead  of  Foxe's  "  Book  of  Martjnrs"  !),  the  Chinese  youth 
is  encouraged  in  the  way  of  righteousness. 

His  first  efforts  to  write,  with  hand  guided  by  the  bene- 
volent old  master,  consisted  of  the  three  words,  "  One,"   — • 

"  Great,"    ';)^,   "  Man,"     ^.      These,    being   very  simple 

characters,  were  easy  to  learn.  They,  moreover,  contained 
within  them  much  to  fire  the  ambition  of  the  infant  mind  ; 
for  might  not  this  unwashed,  uncombed,  ink-begrimed, 
snuffling  specimen  of  goodness-knows-what  some  fine  day 
become  "  A  great  Man,"  with  eight  bearers  to  his  palanquin, 
and  a  crowd  of  lictors,  bodyguards  and  horsemen,  if  only  he 
persevered  in  the  paths  of  learning  ! 

The  next  book  to  be  tackled  was  the  Thousand  Character 
Classic,  in  which  he  steadily  plodded  his  way  through  more 
vocabulary.  This  Classic  is  also  in  rhyme,  and  the  thousand 
characters  in  it  are  never  once  repeated,  whereby  of  course 
the  meaning  is  considerably  strained.  Some  accounts  say 
that  its  compiler  "  did  the  task  in  a  single  night,  under  the 
fear  of  condign  punishment  if  he  failed,  and  the  mental 
exertion  was  so  great  as  to  turn  his  hair  white." 

Later  followed  the  book  "  Divine  (or  clever)  Youths," 
in  which  the  value  of  diligence  is  held  up  in  extremely  diffi- 
cult rhyme.  The  Hundred  Surnames,  a  list  of  the  "  Hundred 
Clans  "  into  which  China  is  supposed  to  be  divided,  came 
next,  or  the  Trimetrical  Classic,  or  some  other  introductory 
book.  Finally  the  scholar  reached  the  Ultima  Thule  of 
learning,  and  was  brought  face  to  face  with  the  great  Sage 
himself,  whose  words  and  conduct,  whose  dress  and  food, 
were  now  to  be  his  mental  pabulum  for  the  rest  of  his  student 
days. 

"  Great  is  Confucius,"  and  no  doubt  the  pupil  has  sufficient 
reason  to  think  so,  as  he  daily  plods  his  weary  way  through 
the  dull  pages,  pages  without  adventure,  without  excitement, 
without  anything  to  add  one  single  beat  to  the  sluggish 
pulse,  or  bring  a  smile  to  the  lip,  or  a  tear  to  the  eye,  for  did 
not  Confucius  carefully  avoid  all  talk  of  "  marvels,  powers, 
disturbances,  spirits  "  ? 

Jlerein  is  no  walking  on  the  sea,  no  raising  of  the  widow'5 


EDUCATIONAL  185 

son,  no  walking  on  the  waters,  no  tears  and  dishevelled  hair 
and  box  of  ointment,  no  parable  of  Prodigal  Son,  no  Judas, 
no  Peter,  no  Pilate,  no  Cross, — and  no  Crown.  The  Master 
wore  the  fur  robe  of  his  undress  long,  with  the  right  sleeve 
short.  The  Master  required  his  sleeping  dress  to  be  half  as 
long  again  as  his  body.  Over  lamb's  fur  he  wore  a  garment 
of  black,  over  fawn's  fur  one  of  white,  and  over  fox's  fur  one 
of  yellow.  He  did  not  eat  meat  which  was  improperly  cut,  nor 
that  which  was  served  without  its  proper  sauce.  It  was  only 
in  wine  that  he  laid  down  no  limit  for  himself,  but  he  did 
not  allow  himself  to  be  confused  by  it.  He  always  ate  ginger 
with  his  meals.  When  he  passed  the  palace  of  his  prince, 
his  countenance  appeared  to  change,  his  legs  to  bend  under 
him,  and  his  words  came  as  if  he  had  hardly  breath  to  utter 
them.  The  Master  said.  If  the  Scholar  be  not  grave  he  will 
not  be  respected  and  his  learning  will  not  be  solid  ;  hold 
faithfulness  and  sincerity  as  first  principles  ;  have  no  friends 
not  equal  to  yourself ;  when  you  have  faults,  do  not  fear  to 
abandon  them.  The  superior  man  thinks  of  virtue,  the  small 
man  thinks  of  comfort.  The  superior  man  is  conversant 
with  righteousness,  the  little  man  with  gain.  All  of  it  good, 
prosaic,  deadly  dull ; — "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  friend  and 
ignore  thine  enemy," — as  if  such  a  man  could  have  blood 
in  his  veins,  or  fire  in  his  life,  could  have  felt  the  woes  of 
mankind,  or  wept  tears  of  agony  over  its  sins  ! 

Nevertheless,  let  us  not  fail  to  remember  what  reason  we 
have  to  be  thankful  that  Chinese  school  books,  viewed  at 
any  rate  from  the  standpoint  of  morals,  unlike  the  Classics 
of  Greece  and  Rome,  need  no  expurgation  before  they  can 
be  put  into  the  hands  of  the  schoolboy.  Nor  is  the  system 
of  memorising  altogether  without  its  compensations,  lo 
the  forgetful  Englishman  the  amount  the  native  student 
can  commit  to  memory  is  cause  for  envy  ;    for  instance  : — 

Two  schoolboys  of  fifteen  years  of  age,  who  for  a  short 
period  had  been  receiving  Scripture  lessons  from  a  Pastor, 
were  one  day  brought  into  my  study,  set  down  back  to  back 
at  a  distance  from  each  other,  and  told  to  be  ready.  The 
Pastor  handed  me  the  book  they  were  to  recite,  which  I 
found  to  be  a  copy  of  St  John's  Gospel.  I  gave  the  word 
to  one  of  them  to  begin,  and,  at  racehorse  speed,  he  set  off 


1 86  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

with  a  rush  through  the  first  chapter,  while  I  breathlessly 
raced  down  the  line  of  characters  after  him.  Recovering 
my  wind  as  he  approached  the  end  of  the  chapter,  I  panted 
out  to  the  other  boy  to  begin  the  second.  Starting  off  as  if 
shot,  he  won  by  a  neck.  I  instantly  commenced  the  first 
boy  on  the  third  chapter,  and,  after  he  had  run  on  into  the 
fourth,  started  the  second  boy  as  soon  as  I  could  get  the  curb 
on.  Thus  we  galloped  through  the  whole  gospel,  or,  rather, 
I  occasionally  jumped  a  page,  and  started  them  off  with  a 
dozen  words  taken  haphazard  from  the  middle  of  the  next. 
They  were  practically  word  perfect,  and  to  me,  who,  as  a  boy, 
had  received  a  prize  for  stumbling  through  the  eleventh 
chapter  of  Hebrews,  with  all  too  numerous  promptings,  it 
was  an  amazing  performance.  I  made  the  boys  happy  with 
a  dollar  apiece,  and  felt  as  if  they  deserved  a  University 
degree ! 

The  youthful  scholar,  having  reached  the  time  for  con- 
struing what  he  had  spent  so  many  years  in  memorising, 
was  now  taught  the  meaning  of  each  phrase  and  required 
to  repeat  that  meaning  when  next  he  came  up  for  a  lesson. 
His  handwriting  was  at  last  taking  shape,  and,  as  he  had 
now  decided  to  enter  for  a  degree  at  the  National  Examina- 
tions, when  an  Imperially-appointed  Literary  Chancellor 
would  come  to  the  county,  his  Master  set  him  theme  after 
theme  for  essay  writing.  According  to  the  rigid  rules  of 
the  Chinese  "  eight-legged  "  essay  he  must  write  out  his 
treatise,  a  sort  of  sermon  with  its  formal  interpretation, 
proposition,  introduction,  contextual  connection,  division, 
quotation,  illustration,  application  and  conclusion. 

Moreover,  he  must  learn  by  heart  all  the  other  Confucian 
Classics,  namely  the  Four  Books  (Analects,  Great  Learning, 
Golden  Mean,  and  Mencius).  He  must  also  read  and  memo- 
rise the  Five  Canons  edited  by  Confucius  himself,  namely, 
the  Ancient  History  of  China,  the  Spring  and  Autumn 
Annuals,  the  Ancient  Poets,  the  Ritual,  and  the  Book  of 
Divination.  He  must  read  the  commentaries  of  Chufutsz 
on  some  of  these  books,  and,  if  possible,  memorise  them  also. 
For  when  he  entered  the  examination  shed,  he  knew  not  what 
fragment  of  a  verse  or  sentence  might  be  chipped  off  for  him 
to  masticate.     It  was  much  as  if  a  theologiced  class  were  to 


EDUCATIONAL  187 

have,  say,  the  words,  "  The  sound  of  a  shaken  leaf  shall 
chase  them,"  or  "  Old  shoes  and  clouted  upon  their  feet," 
or,  "  Keep  thy  tongue  from  evil,  and  thy  lips  from  speaking 
guile,"  given  to  it,  and,  without  any  further  aid  to  memory, 
being  instructed  to  write  a  sermon,  in  a  given  stilted  style, 
placing  the  text  in  proper  setting  with  its  context,  and  then 
drawing  lessons  from  text  and  context. 

Such  was  the  sole  qualification  required  under  the  old 
regime  for  the  first,  or  B.A.  degree.  The  second  and  third 
degrees  were  like  it,  plus  the  addition  of  verse-making. 
No  mathematics,  no  science,  no  modern  history,  and  de- 
cidedly no  barbarian  tongues.  The  system  was  not  altogether 
valueless,  any  more  than  an  English  University  pass  in 
Classics  is  valueless ;  indeed  in  many  respects  the  two 
systems  bore  a  strong  resemblance,  with  balance  of  advantage 
in  favour  of  the  Chinaman,  for  his  education  was  of  living 
and  immediate  use  throughout  the  whole  Empire,  whereas 
that  of  his  English  compeer  was  dead  and  generally  cast 
aside  on  leaving  the  University. 

Moreover,  the  Chinese  degree  was  the  more  difficult  to 
obtain,  seeing  that,  as  in  the  case  of  our  own  Civil  Service 
Examination,  which  theoietically  it  resembled  in  its  objective, 
there  was  a  fixed  limit  in  the  number  of  passes.  By  this 
regulation,  out  of  three  or  four  thousand  entries  in  this 
county  of  Wenchow,  only  a  few  over  a  hundred  could  graduate 
in  any  one  year,  and  men  grew  grey-headed  trying  in  vain 
to  obtain  a  pass.  Indeed  occasionally  three  generations  of 
the  same  family  have  sat  in  one  Examination  shed  at  the 
same  time. 

At  the  great  Triennial  Provincial  Examination,  for  which 
five  to  ten  thousand  graduates  have  hitherto  been  accustomed 
to  assemble  for  the  second  or  M.A.  degree,  the  number  of 
passes  was  again  limited  to  a  similar  figure.  So  highly  prized 
was  this  sign  and  seal  of  learning,  that  many  spent  a  month 
or  more  on  the  road  to  the  Provincial  Capital,  and  suffered 
incredible  discomforts  both  in  and  out  of  the  Examination 
Hall,  wherein  days  of  tropic  heat  or  nights  of  deadly  cold 
had  to  be  passed  penned  in  a  cell  six  feet  by  four,  too  short 
for  a  man  to  lie  down  at  full  length,  and  wide  open  at  one 
end  to  every  kind  of  weather. 


1 88  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

All  this  has  changed  since  the  year  1900.  The  old-time 
essay  with  its  firstly,  secondly,  thirdly,  was  the  first  to  abdi- 
cate from  its  eight-century-old  throne,  and  for  the  first  degree 
the  student  was  granted  permission  to  form  his  own  style  of 
thesis.  The  theme  need  no  longer  be  limited  to  the  Classics, 
but  might  wander  anywhere  between  the  bowels  of  the  earth 
and  the  light  of  the  remotest  star,  even  further ;  and  might 
soar  from  the  treatment  of  parents  to  the  ruling  of  a  universe. 
Modern  languages  (English  especially),  mathematics,  theoreti- 
cal science,  history,  geography,  all  found  a  place  in  the  new 
list  of  subjects  spread  before  the  examinee,  and  the  Literary 
Chancellor,  himself  ignorant  of  these  topics,  was  driven  to 
take  around  with  him  a  band  of  assistant  examiners  at 
whom  ten  years  ago  he  would  have  elevated  his  nose,  had  it 
been  possible  to  raise  so  disdainful  an  organ  any  further. 

For  was  it  not  such  men  as  these  degenerate  assistants 
who  had  been  the  means  of  overthrowing  the  cultured  essay 
and  the  classic  verse,  and  of  substituting  for  them  the  amorphic 
modern  newspaper  article  !  Was  it  not  they  who  had  intro- 
duced babarian  tongues, — truly  barbarian  the  barbarian  him- 
self thought  as  he  tried  to  recognise  them — and  vulgar  figures, 
fit  only  for  a  tradesman's  bookkeeper  ;  and  mechanics,  fit 
teaching  for  the  grimy  smith  ;  and  chemistry,  fit  for  nobody 
with  a  nose,  except  perhaps  a  dyer,  or — a  sanitary  inspector, 
he  would  have  added,  had  he  ever  heard  of  such  a  being! 
What  was  His  High  Mightiness  here  for  ?  To  examine  smiths 
and  tradesmen  ?  Was  this  learning  ?  Shades  of  Confucius  ! 
To  what  was  the  country  coming  ?  Nevertheless  he  did  his 
duty  as  he  saw  it,  which  was  to  be  as  heavy  a  clog  as  possible 
on  the  wheels  of  this  downgrade  movement. 

Next  year  came  along  a  Chancellor  of  different  mould, 
whose  hawklike  beak  was  stridden  by  a  pair  of  foreign 
spectacles  through  which  he  looked  for  ideas  even  more  than 
for  style,  and  who  laid  greater  stress  on  the  weight  of  the 
Dogstar,  or  the  best  way  of  defending  the  coast,  than  on 
the  follies  and  fancies  to  be  drawn  in  strict  essay  form,  from 
the  statement  that  "  the  music  of  Shau  should  have  its 
accompanying  pantomimes."  He  preferred  enlightenment 
on  bimetallism  to  the  inanities  of  a  score  of  antithetical 
lines,  whose  chief  merit  was  their  balance  and  rhyme. 


EDUCATIONAL  189 

Such  was  the  condition  of  education  when  I  commenced 
to  pen  this  description  a  few  months  ago.  It  was  marked  by  a 
flux  and  reflux  which  became  the  puzzle  of  the  educationahst, 
to  whom  also  the  two  months  wasted  during  the  spring  and 
autumn  terms  through  the  absence  of  half  his  pupils  at  these 
antiquated  examinations,  was  a  constant  irritation.  The 
present  month,  September  1905,  has,  however,  seen  the 
issue  of  a  new  Edict  which  abolishes  these  great  examinations 
from  and  after  1906,  substituting  College  and  University 
examinations  in  their  place,  and  ordering  the  definition  of 
a  national  curriculum,  and  the  selection  of  appropriate  text 
books.  Whether  this  change  is  final  time  will  show,  but  the 
chances  are  strongly  in  its  favour.  Educationally  China  is 
in  the  experimental  stage,  and,  though  the  situation  presents 
many  irksome  features,  it  contains  within  it  germs  of  a  most 
hopeful  character,  which  may  generate  influences  great, 
abiding,  and  universal. 

In  Wenchow  we  were  driven  by  force  of  circumstances 
to  adopt  a  system  of  higher  education.  A  spirit  of  dis- 
satisfaction with  the  old  regime  was  abroad,  accompanied 
by  a  half-ashamed  turning  of  the  eye  towards  the  foreign 
missionary  for  help,  so  in  1897  we  yielded  to  the  inevitable 
and  decided  to  make  a  start.  The  principal  factor  inducing 
us  to  do  so  was  the  advent  of  a  new  boys'  schoolmaster,  who 
had  picked  up  some  arithmetic  and  a  little  algebra  and 
geometry  in  Shanghai.  My  honoured  friend,  Dr  John 
Fryer,  amongst  others,  had  done  excellent  pioneer  work  in 
translating  educational  books,  which  were  the  only  source 
of  information  for  non-collegiate  Chinese  students  ;  yet  so 
rapid  a  change  has  come  over  the  educational  world  that  it 
is  difficult  to  realise  that  ten  years  ago  our  present-day 
text-books  simply  did  not  exist,  almost  every  Missionary 
Professor  having  to  translate  his  own. 

Our  new  acquisition  with  the  smattering  of  Western 
knowledge,  was  put  in  charge  of  our  new  High  School,  which 
consisted  of  a  score  of  youths,  who  all  paid  for  the  new  educa- 
tion such  fees  as  had  not  before  been  paid  in  Wenchow.  We 
taught  English  for  an  extra  fee,  my  colleague,  the  Rev. 
W.  R.  Stobie,  kindly  taking  charge  of  this  department.  A 
native  Classical  master  was  engaged,  and  the  native  with 


190  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

the  smattering  did  the  rest.  Progress  was  made,  and  the 
number  of  students  so  increased  that  our  small  premises 
became  overcrowded  and  insanitary.  We  then  became 
mortgagees  with  possession  of  an  old,  very  dirty,  but  roomy 
Chinese  house.  This  was  cleaned  and  repaired,  and  in  time 
our  score  of  students  grew  to  fifty.  From  Dr  Mateer's 
College,  eight  hundred  miles  to  the  north,  we  obtained  a 
Christian  Mathematics  Master.  A  devoted  young  fellow  he 
was,  and  to  this  day  Mr  Wang's  influence  is  felt  in  our  College. 
Three  years  of  Wenchow  unfortunately  proved  too  much 
for  his  northern  constitution  ;  he  broke  down  in  health, 
and  was  compelled  to  go  back  to  his  own  dry  and  bracing 
climate.  Happily  this  did  not  occur  until  he  had  taught  a 
Christian  youth,  son  of  a  good  family,  sufficient  knowledge 
to  fill  his  place,  and  this  young  man  has  trained  others,  who 
are  now  able  to  take  charge  of  the  mathematics  department. 

We  also  decided  to  obtain  a  first  rate  Classics  Master,  and 
succeeded  in  engaging  one  of  the  ablest  scholars  in  the 
county.  He  is  still  with  us,  and  honoured  both  himself  and 
our  Institution  two  years  ago,  by  taking  his  M.A.  degree. 
Chinese  Language  and  Literature  has  been  made  the  chief 
item  in  our  syUabus,  as  we  do  not  deem  it  credible  to  a 
Mission  College  that  its  students  should  leave  with  a  know- 
ledge of  many  other  things,  but  ignorant  of  their  own  language. 

In  1899  the  pastoral  work  of  the  Mission  becoming  too 
great  for  Mr  Stobbie  and  myself,  an  additional  missionary 
was  sought,  and  the  Rev.  A.  H.  Sharman  sent  out.  Still  we 
were  short-handed,  and  the  growing  needs  of  the  College 
called  for  a  specially  trained  master.  Consequently,  in 
1902,  Mr  T.  W.  Chapman,  M.Sc,  joined  us,  and  he  is  worthily 
filling  this  very  responsible  post. 

Our  mortgaged  house  was  never  weU  suited  to  our  needs, 
and  the  increasing  number  of  students,  lack  of  sleeping 
accommodation  and  class-rooms,  and  the  necessity  for  more 
light  and  air,  urged  the  expediency  of  new  and  convenient 
premises.  A  friend  generously  offered  :£5oo  towards  such 
a  building  ;  Mrs  Soothill,  who  was  in  England,  succeeded 
in  raising  £800  more,  the  committee  also  made  a  grant 
towards  the  Principal's  house,  and  our  present  commodious 
College  is  the  outcome.     Herein  are  bedrooms  for  ninety 


w 
o 
w 
h-I 
1-1 
o 
o 

O 


EDUCATIONAL  191 

students,  masters'  rooms,  class-rooms,  chapel,  reception  and 
dining  halls,  and  the  usual  outhouses.^  The  Principal's 
house  adjoins  the  College,  being  in  immediate  contact  there- 
with for  ease  of  supervision  whether  by  day  or  by  night. 

Mr  Chapman  is  training  his  own  staff  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
in  order  that  the  day  of  self-support  may  the  more  speedily 
dawn  upon  us.  The  cost  to  the  Mission  for  1906  is  estimated 
at  something  less  than  £50,  and  there  is  a  fair  prospect  of 
1907  seeing  the  College  self-sustaining,  the  Principal's  salary 
of  course  apart. 

Our  local  record  in  the  public  examinations  surpasses 
that  of  any  Official  College  hereabouts.  Last  year  eight 
of  our  students  took  their  degree,  as  also  did  a  boy  of  fourteen 
from  our  elementary  school,  and  one  young  man  passed  into 
the  Peking  University.  What  we  look  and  work  for,  how- 
ever, is  something  higher  than  examination  records.  While 
we  desire  to  turn  out  men  well-appointed  mentally,  much 
more  do  we  desire  to  see  them  leave  us  with  a  higher  moral 
equipment  than  is  usual  in  the  native  schools,  and  best  of 
all  with  a  soul  awakened,  and  a  conscience  enlightened,  for 
the  spiritual  battle  of  life.  Much  therefore  though  we  dislike 
compulsion,  we  have  felt  it  our  duty  to  make  a  rule  that  all 
students  attend  prayers  daily,  and  that  all  resident  masters 
and  students  attend  College  service  once  on  Sundays ; 
attendance  at  other  services  is  left  quite  optional.  The 
senior  classes  take  a  book  of  the  New  Testament  as  part  of 
their  English  course,  and  at  the  Sunday  afternoon  service 
which  Mr  Chapman  has  instituted  it  is  a  delight  to  see  their 
reverence  and  attention.  We  are  also  commencing  meetings 
with  a  view  to  affiliation  with  the  Collegiate  Y.M.C.A., 
hoping  thereby  to  bring  an  even  greater  influence  to  bear  on 
the  moral  and  spiritual  character  of  our  young  men.  There 
are  no  false  pretences  about  the  College.  It  is  definitely 
a  Christian  institution,  everybody  knows  it  to  be  such,  and 
yet  we  have  representatives  from  the  principal  Yamens,  and 
from  some  of  the  best  non-Christian  homes  in  the  county. 

A  number  of  our  students  have  taken  excellent  and  lucra- 

^  1906  has  opened  with  200  students,  of  whom  40  are  day  pupils, 
40  have  had  to  be  provided  with  outside  accommodation,  and  120 
crowded  into  the  College  dormitories. 


192  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

tive  situations  as  schoolmasters,  and  in  the  customs  and 
postal  services,  but  while  we  rejoice  over  these,  much  greater 
is  our  joy  over  those  who  have  gone  out  as  preachers  into  our 
churches,  and  as  teachers  into  our  own  schools.  Three  of 
our  best  young  preachers  have  had  training  here  which  has 
made  them  thoughtful,  intelligent  and  earnest,  and  which 
has  given  them  an  unquestioned  advantage  over  most  of 
their  fellow-preachers. 

The  college  would  have  repaid  its  cost  if  only  those  who 
have  already  been  influenced  and  helped  were  counted,  but 
what  of  the  future  that  lies  before  it  ?  From  this  and  other 
such  Colleges,  is  to  spring  a  race  of  men,  who  shall  be  known 
for  their  integrity  and  sincerity,  virtues  rare  in  this  country 
of  moral  decrepitude  ;  men  who,  disdaining  to  kneel  before 
stocks  and  stones,  wfll  not  rest  till  it  be  possible  to  hold  any 
office  in  the  land,  without  degrading  it  by  the  idolatry  which 
at  present  is  its  necessary  concomitant ;  men  who  will  some 
day  seek  the  face  of  the  noblest  Man  the  earth  has  seen,  and 
recognise  in  Him  the  Son  of  God,  the  Divine  Saviour.  From 
such  Colleges  are  to  come  men  who,  holding  the  greatest  gain 
to  be  the  winning  of  immortal  souls,  shall  fill  this  country  with 
the  power  of  a  new  and  immortal  life.  From  such  Colleges, 
indeed,  we  look  for  a  host,  intellectual  and  earnest,  who  will 
lay  hold  of  the  next  generation,  purge  it  of  idolatry  and 
superstition,  and  lift  it  into  mental  and  spiritual  hberty. 

Already  the  influence  of  the  new  College  on  our  City 
Elementary  School  has  been  most  marked.  From  the  thirty 
pupils  which  had  been  its  average  for  more  than  twenty 
years,  the  numbers,  at  one  bound,  sprang  to  over  two  hundred 
the  year  after  the  new  College  was  opened.  And  though 
Official  Elementary  schools  have  since  been  opened,  our 
numbers  have  increased,  under  Mr  Sharman's  supervision, 
to  over  three  hundred,  thus  forming  by  far  the  largest  school 
in  this  county,  if  not  in  this  province.  No  longer  do  the 
boys  howl  out  the  ancient  books  at  the  top  of  their  lusty 
voices,  for  the  shouting  of  three  hundred  boys,  in  confined 
quarters,  might  produce  a  similar  result  on  our  school  walls 
to  that  which  the  shouting  of  Israel  did  on  those  of  Jericho. 

The  course  of  study  has  also  been  changed,  improved 
Chinese  educational  books  have  been  adopted,  arithmetic 


Q 

H 
m 

o 


EDUCATIONAL  193 

has  been  introduced,  history  also  and  geography,  scripture 
classes  are  held  daily,  the  romanised  New  Testament  being 
taught  as  well  as  the  character  version,  and  there  is  a  select 
class  in  elementary  English,  which  pays  special  fees  for  the 
help  it  obtains  from  one  of  the  College  students.  Once  a 
week  Mr  Sharman  holds  a  C.E.S.,  at  which  over  a  hundred 
of  the  boys  are  voluntarily  present,  many  of  them  from 
pagan  homes.  Every  Sunday,  also,  the  whole  school  is 
present  at  morning  service  in  our  City  Church. 

When  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  in  this  city,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  immense  number  of  children  in  the  six  other  cities, 
and  thousands  of  villages  in  this  county,  there  are  twenty 
thousand  children,  who  ought  to  be  at  school,  the  need  for  the 
Christian  schoolmaster  is  all  too  manifest.  Given  the  man 
and  the  means,  what  is  to  hinder  the  collecting  of  all  these 
Wenchow  children  into  Christian  schools,  and  the  slaying 
of  idolatry  in  this  city  in  one  generation  !  The  victory  of 
Japan  over  Russia  has  aroused  in  China  an  ardent  desire  to 
regain  her  lost  prestige,  and  Chinese  students  have  been 
pouring  into  Japan,  where  there  now  are  eight  thousand  of 
them,  and  Japanese  professors  are  beginning  to  come  into 
this.  Whatever  virtues  these  men  possess, — and  we  would 
be  the  last  to  minimise  them, — their  influence  is  definitely 
not  Christian,  indeed  is  often  a  direct  hindrance  to  Christian 
progress,  for  Huxley  and  Spencer  are  greater  in  their  eyes 
than  Jesus  Christ.  Why  will  not  Christian  England  awake 
to  a  sense  of  its  dangers,  responsibilities  and  privileges  ? 
When  will  it  arouse  itself  to  lay  hold  of  the  rising  generation 
in  pagan  lands,  and,  from  their  early  years,  imbue  them  with 
love  for  Him,  who  was  the  Highest  Educator  the  world  has 
known  or  can  know  ? 


tr 


XIII 
BIBLE    TRANSLATION 

"That  thou  mightest  know  the  certainty  concerning  the  things 
which  thou  wast  taught  by  word  of  mouth." 

A  MISSIONARY  may  do  without  many  things  he  ought  to  have, 
but  he  cannot  long  do  without  a  translation  into  the  language 
of  his  people,  of  the  record  of  his  Master's  Life  and  Teaching. 
Lacking  this,  his  preaching,  while  temporarily  effective,  will 
fail  in  permanence.  The  Apostles  themselves  soon  dis- 
covered that  oral  teaching  alone  was  insufficient  for  accuracy. 
Memory  is  treacherous  and  imagination  vivid.  Oral  tradi- 
tion soon  becomes  floral  tradition,  and  fact  becomes  hidden 
beneath  the  poppy  flowers  of  fancy.  Hence  the  Apostles 
were  early  led,  probably  by  this  same  experience  of  human 
obliquity,  to  commit  those  things  to  writing,  which  were 
necessary  for  the  faith  and  morals  of  their  own  and  future 
generations. 

In  like  manner,  the  present-day  missionary,  who  is  destitute 
of  the  Word  of  God  in  the  words  of  his  people,  will  fail  to 
keep  them  in  the  Way  of  God,  which  is  the  Way  of  Life. 
Such  is  the  experience  of  history ;  for  the  withholding  of 
the  written  Word  has  ever  resulted  in  a  degenerate  Church 
and  an  ignoble  clergy. 

Nor,  just  as  Dr  Wells  Williams  has  pointed  out,  has  the 
Church  in  China  escaped  this  fate,  for  as  the  founders  founded 
so  has  it  grown.  Ricci,  the  great  Roman  pioneer,  is  depicted 
in  admirable  language  by  Abbe  Hue  as  a  man  erudite, 
polished,  and  of  unique  diplomatic  ability.  One  arises  from 
a  perusal  of  the  Abbe's  pages  with  a  warm  admiration  for 
this  great  pioneer's  intellectual  gifts  and  undaunted  courage  ; 
but  not  all  his  co-workers  held  him  in  such  high  esteem,  for 
a  priest  of  his  own  Communion  has  said  of  him,  "  Being  more 


BIBLE  TRANSLATION  195 

of  a  politician  than  a  theologian,  he  discovered  the  secret  of 
remaining  peacefully  in  China.  The  kings  found  him  a  man 
full  of  complaisance  ;  the  pagans  a  minister  who  accom- 
modated himself  to  their  superstitions ;  the  mandarins  a 
polite  courtier  skilled  in  all  the  trickery  of  courts  ;  and  the 
devil  a  faithful  servant,  who,  far  from  destroying,  established 
his  reign  among  the  heathen,  and  even  extended  it  to  the 
Christians.  He  preached  in  China  the  religion  of  Christ 
according  to  his  own  fancy ;  that  is  to  say,  he  disfigured 
it  by  a  faithful  mixture  of  pagan  superstitions,  adopting 
the  sacrifices  offered  to  Confucius  and  ancestors,  and  teaching 
the  Christians  to  assist  and  co-operate  at  the  worship  of 
idols,  provided  they  only  addressed  their  devotions  to  a 
cross  covered  with  flowers,  or  secretly  attached  to  one  of 
the  candles  which  were  lighted  in  the  temples  of  the  false 
gods." 

Dr  Morrison,  on  the  other  hand,  when  sent  to  China, 
found  in  his  letter  of  instructions  the  following  words  : — 
"  Perhaps  you  may  have  the  honour  of  forming  a  Chinese 
dictionary  more  comprehensive  and  correct  than  any  pre- 
ceding one,  or  the  still  greater  honour  of  translating  the  Sacred 
Scriptures  into  a  language  spoken  by  a  third  part  of  the 
human  race." 

Ricci  founded  the  Roman  Church  in  China,  withholding 
the  Bible  from  his  people,  and  as  he  founded,  so,  despite  the 
noble  self-sacrificing  labours  ^  of  humbler  apostles,  has  it 
continued  to  grow.  Morrison,  on  the  other  hand,  early 
translated  the  Scriptures  into  Chinese,  and  since  his  day 
the  Bible  has  been  the  foundation  Rock  of  Protestant  theology 
and  teaching  in  China,  even  as  it  is  in  Protestant  Europe. 
From  its  records  this  Church  of  the  Bible  daily  draws  life 
and  strength, — a  strength  spiritual  with  which  it  soars  above 
the  contamination  of  intrigue  and  craftiness,  leaving  diplo- 
macy and  its  own  future  in  the  hands  of  the  Great  Diplomatist 
of  the  Universe. 

During  the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century,  while 
Morrison  was  still  studying  the  languages,  Dr  Marshman, — 

^  In  Wenchow  for  some  yeaxs  back  we  have  been  on  terms  of  mutual 
friendliness  with  the  French  priests,  for  whose  honesty  of  purpose  and 
zealous  labours  I  have  a  sincere  respect. 


196  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

one  of  the  famous  trio,  Carey,  Marshman,  and  Ward, — 
became  acquainted  with  an  American  born  in  China  and 
possessed  of  a  knowledge  of  its  written  language.  This  man, 
John  Lassar,  he  employed  to  translate  the  Scriptures  into 
Chinese  character,  and  during  the  year  1810  succeeded  in 
publishing  the  Gospel  of  St  Matthew.  Nevertheless  it  fell 
to  the  lot  of  Dr  Morrison,  in  the  year  1814,  seven  years  after 
his  arrival,  to  fulfil  the  duty  imposed  upon  him  in  his  letter 
of  instructions,  by  publishing  the  first  complete  translation 
of  the  New  Testament  in  the  Chinese  language.  This  was 
a  very  noble  record ;  for  with  all  the  aids  that  to-day  exist, 
few  men  in  so  short  a  time  acquire  a  sufficient  knowledge  of 
the  classical  language  to  read  it  easily,  much  less  translate 
into  it.  This  record  was  equalled  nine  years  later  by  the 
publication,  with  the  aid  of  his  colleague  William  Milne,  of 
the  whole  Bible.  Perhaps  none  can  appreciate  the  greatness 
of  this  colossal  work  so  highly  as  the  man  who  himself  has 
experienced  the  toil  and  difficulty  of  translating  the  Scrip- 
tures into  Chinese,  even  though  his  labour  has  been  immensely 
lightened  by  the  travail  of  Morrison,  his  contemporaries, 
and  successors. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  a  one-man  version,  however 
excellent,  can  rarely  be  permanent ;  much  less  is  this  possible 
with  a  pioneer  translation.  Dr  Morrison  himself  recognised 
the  imperfection  of  his  work,  but  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  others  to 
bring  out  a  revision,  first  of  the  New  Testament  in  1837, 
again  in  1850  ;   and  afterwards  of  the  Old  Testament  in  1854. 

Such  versions  were  aU  in  the  classical  (Wen-li)  language, 
the  literary  form  of  the  educated  and  not  understood  by  the 
common  people.  Wen-li  is  the  dead  language  of  China,  and 
stands  in  similar  relationship  to  the  speech  of  everyday  life 
that  Latin  stood  to  the  vernaculars  of  mediaeval  Europe. 
But  there  is  one  important  difference,  for  whereas  the  mediaeval 
scholar  might  talk  Latin  with  his  compeers  and  be  under- 
stood, so  terse  is  Wen-li  that  prolonged  conversation  in  it 
is  unknown  and  well-nigh  impossible. 

For  fifty  years  this  Wen-li  Bible  was  the  only  version  in 
the  hands  of  the  people.  What  the  Vulgate  was  to  mediaeval 
Europe  such  was  this  translation  to  the  Chinese  Church, — 
a  book  for  the  educated  and  not  for  the  common  people. 


p 
< 

IZ 

O 
ir. 

O 


BIBLE  TRANSLATION  197 

who  it  must  always  be  borne  in  mind,  now  as  well  as  then 
vastly  outnumber  the  educated  classes. 

In  1857  Dr  Medhurst  took  another  important  step  forward 
by  employing  a  native  scholar  to  render  the  Wen-li  version 
into  Mandarin,  the  official  language,  which  is  the  common 
speech  of  two-thirds  of  the  population.  This  soon  led  to  the 
appointment  of  a  committee,  which  in  1872  pubhshed  what 
has  since  become  the  most  popular  edition  in  the  empire, 
being  known  as  the  Peking  mandarin  version.  Two  years 
later  the  Old  Testament  was  added. 

This  mandarin  version,  published  in  Chinese  character, 
while  indeed  "  common  "  m  the  eyes  of  the  Chinese  scholar, 
and  despised  by  him  accordingly,  has  been  a  great  power  in 
the  land,  and  is  destined  to  have  a  revolutionary  influence 
on  the  literature  of  the  land.  For,  just  as  the  Bible  in  English 
and  in  German  gave  birth  to  the  noble  literature  of  both 
those  countries  ;  and  as  the  written  languages  of  several 
European  and  Oriental  nations  have  been  invented  solely 
for  the  sake  of  translating  the  Scriptures,  so  this  mandarin 
version  has  laid  the  foundation  for  a  new  and  simpler  litera- 
ture which,  there  is  reason  to  anticipate,  will  some  day 
relegate  classical  Chinese  to  the  repose  of  the  Universities  of 
the  future,  just  as  has  occurred  in  the  case  of  Latin  in  Europe. 
Already  this  version  has  begun  to  bring  forth  hterary  fruit,  for 
newspapers  and  magazines  have  lately  appeared  in  Mandarin, 
a  language  which  can  be  written  in  Chinese  characters  as 
it  is  spoken,  or,  to  be  more  accurate,  can  be  spoken  intelli- 
gibly as  it  is  written. 

One  fault  which  both  the  above-mentioned  renderings  have 
shared  more  or  less  in  common  is,  that  being  translated 
chiefly  for  the  critical  unbeliever,  verbal  accuracy  was  some- 
what sacrificed  to  chasteness  of  style.  Not  that  anyone 
would  be  led  into  heresy  by  their  contents,  for  within  their 
covers  any  devout  reader  could  not  fail  to  find  the  Way  of 
Life  clearly  set  forth.  Nevertheless,  to  the  missionary  who 
has  chosen  a  text  in  his  English  version  and  drafted  out  his 
sermon,  it  is  not  helpful,  on  ascending  the  pulpit  and  opening 
his  Chinese  Testament,  to  find  that  his  text  does  not  fit  his 
sermon  through  inaccuracy  in  translation. 

For  instance,  when  a  preacher  has  prepared  his  sermon  on 


198  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

the  "  other  tongues  "  of  Acts  ii.  4,  with  a  view  to  showing 
the  converting  power  of  the  sanctified  tongue,  and  finds  on 
standing  before  his  people  that  his  pulpit  version  for  "  other 
tongues  "  reads,  "  the  speech  of  other  nations,"  his  sermon 
loses  its  point  at  once.  Or,  when  he  has  made  ready  to 
speak  on  the  text,  "  Abstain  from  all  appearance  of  evil," 
with  special  reference  to  the  word  "appearance,"  and  finds 
instead,  "  Every  kind  of  evil  thing  ought  to  be  forbidden 
and  not  committed,"  he  stands  aghast,  and  has  either  to 
preach  his  sermon  without  his  text,  or  fit  a  fresh  sermon  to  it. 

In  consequence  of  this  lack  of  literal  accuracy  in  the  exist- 
ing versions,  and  taking  into  consideration  that  the  Church 
had  grown  to  important  proportions,  it  was  resolved  at  the 
great  Missionary  Conference  of  1890,  that  they  should  be 
revised.  For  the  last  fifteen  years  past  three  bodies  of 
revisers  have  been  at  work.  One  committee  is  —  that 
for  the  High  Wen-li  version,  whose  style  the  profoundest 
scholar  may  not  despise.  A  second  committee  is  at  work 
on  a  rendering  in  easy  Wen-li,  for  men  of  secondary  educa- 
tional advantages,  to  whom  the  terseness  of  phraseology, 
and  rareness  of  the  characters  used  in  the  Higher  version, 
would  be  difficult  of  apprehension.  The  third  committee 
is  revising  the  mandarin  colloquial.  Their  labours  are  now 
approaching  completion,  and  it  is  expected  that  at  the 
coming  Centenary  Conference  in  1907,  which  celebrates  the 
arrival  of  Dr  Morrison,  the  great  Pioneer  Translator,  in  this 
country,  the  three  versions  will  be  submitted  and  adopted. 

There  are,  however,  great  masses  of  people  in  the  South- 
eastern Provinces  to  whom  mandarin  is  almost  as  much  a 
sealed  book  as  the  Classical.  Such  are  the  populations  of 
Shanghai,  Ningpo,  Wenchow,  Fukien,  and  Kuangtung. 
Moreover,  the  two  thousand  characters  in  the  New  Testament 
are  by  no  means  easy  to  learn,  whereas  it  is  possible  to  write 
intelligibly  all  these  vernaculars,  as  also  the  mandarin  itself, 
in  romanised  letters.  It  is  also  far  easier  to  teach  a  native, 
especially  a  native  child,  the  romanised  system  of  reading 
and  writing  than  to  teach  him  the  more  cumbrous  characters. 
Hence,  many  years  ago  romanised  versions  were  published 
in  Ningpo,  Amoy,  Swatow,  Taichow  and  other  places  along 
the  coast.     Recently  Shanghai  has  followed  suit,   and  at 


BIBLE  TRANSLATION  199 

last,  the  mandarin-speaking  missionaries  have  adopted  a 
uniform  method  of  romanising,  and  are  now  pubhshing  the 
New  Testament  in  this  simpler  phonetic  form. 

The  simplicity  of  the  system  is  manifest  from  the  fact,  that 
a  boy  or  girl  can  learn  to  read  and  write  in  as  many  months 
as  it  would  take  years  to  learn  to  read  and  write  the  native 
character.  Some  young  men  learn  to  read  in  a  dozen  lessons, 
and  one  youth,  who  took  a  lesson  in  the  primer  on  a  certain 
Sunday,  came  back  to  his  pastor  the  week  after,  able  to 
plod  through  his  New  Testament. 

It  is  nearly  twenty  years  since  I  was  impelled  to  attempt 
to  do  for  our  two  million  Wenchow  people,  what  Wycliff  and 
Tyndall  did  for  their  four  million  Englishmen.  The  mandarin 
was  then  the  only  version  within  our  people's  reach.  When 
read  from  the  pulpit,  none  but  those  who  had  books  could 
in  any  way  follow,  and  to  the  majority  even  of  these  the 
reading  was  as  sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling  cymbal,  for  they 
failed  to  gather  its  meaning.  Take  for  instance,  some  of 
the  most  constant  expressions.  The  mandarin  for  "  they  " 
is  ta-mang,  whereas  the  colloquial  is  gi-da-ko  ;  the  characters 
for  "  there  "  are  na-li,  the  colloquial  hoa-ta,  or  nya-uh-doa  ; 
the  characters  for  "  what "  are  zang-mo,  the  colloquial 
ga-nyie  ;  the  characters  for  "  why  "  are  tsang-mo,  the  collo- 
quial tsz-na  ;  the  character  for  "  not  "  is  pat,  the  colloquial 
fu  ;  for  "  have  not  "  the  book  reads  mo-yao,  the  native  says 
n-nao.  Hence  for  the  sentence  "  Bring  that  thing  here," 
the  book  reads,  Na-ko  tung-si  na-lai,  literally,  "  That-piece 
east-west  seize-come "  ;  the  Wenchow  man  says,  He-kai 
mu-z  tso-li, — a  very  different  phrase. 

The  mandarin  is  the  simplest  character  version  we  possess, 
yet  it  is  almost  as  far  removed  from  the  understanding  of 
our  people,  as  the  Latin  version  is  from  the  comprehension 
of  a  congregation  of  French  peasants.  Moreover,  the  man- 
darin version  is  despised  by  scholars  as  "  neither  three  nor 
four,"  neither  one  thing  nor  another ;  indeed,  southern 
scholars,  on  first  reading  it,  find  it  as  difficult  and  ungraceful 
as  a  southern  Englishman  finds  a  first  reading  of,  say,  Tenny- 
son's "  Northern  Farmer." 

Preferring  to  utilise  native  material  rather  than  introduce 
the  romanised  system,  which  is  distinctively  foreign,  I  made 


200  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

an  early  attempt  to  translate  the  Gospels  into  colloquial 
character.  More  than  one  failure  soon  convinced  me  of 
the  futility  of  any  such  endeavour.  For  very  many  colloquial 
words  there  were  no  characters,  so  that  nearly  a  quarter 
of  each  page  would  have  consisted  of  new  characters  made 
up  for  our  purpose,  or  of  others  diverted  from  their  proper 
sound  or  meaning.  Inn  konsekwense  the  book  wood  hav 
red  as  hear  I  right, — verUy  "  neither  three  nor  four  !  " 

Nothing  remained  therefore  but  romanisation.  After 
first  compiling  a  system  of  spelling,  and  publishing  a  primer 
and  a  hymn-book,  the  next  step  was  Bible  translation. 
It  would  have  saved  much  time  to  have  taken  the  mandarin 
version,  and  translated  it  word  for  word  into  the  local  speech, 
but  there  was  already  sufficient  evidence  that  that  version 
would  speedily  require  emendation.  Indeed,  Dr  Griffith 
John  was  then  already  bringing  out  an  independent  revision, 
which  was  not  without  influence  in  inducing  the  Conference 
of  1890  to  appoint  its  own  Committee  of  Revisers.  Independ- 
ence being  in  the  air  I  followed  the  fashion,  and  made  a  more 
or  less  independent  translation  of  the  four  Gospels  and  the 
Acts,  which  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  accepted 
and  printed  during  my  furlough  in  1893. 

The  way  of  translators  is  hard,  but  from  the  way  of  the 
modern  translator,  while  it  is  still  sufficiently  rough  and 
thorny,  the  more  forbidding  obstacles  have  been  removed. 
The  herculean  labours  of  his  predecessors  and  their  enlighten- 
ing, not  to  say  fervid,  discussions  have  formed  his  track, 
and  what  is  left  him  to  do  is  but  to  smoothe  it  by  removing 
the  briars  and  making  the  rough  places  plain. 

Think  for  a  moment  of  the  difficulties  of  our  pioneer 
translator.  At  the  very  outset,  what  word  shall  he  use  for 
God  ?  The  Romanists  introduced  the  term  T'ien  Chu,  or, 
Lord  of  Heaven  ;  but  that  is  a  very  evident  foreign  importa- 
tion, and  not  weU  suited  to  the  translator's  use.  Moreover, 
the  Chinese  are  not  without  suitable  terms  of  their  own. 
There  are  two  in  common  use,  either  of  which  is  worthy 
of  adoption.  One  is  the  classic  name  Shang  Ti,  Over  King, 
or  Supreme  Ruler.  The  other  is  the  every  day  term  for  their 
gods,  Shen,  god  or  spirit.  Which  of  these  terms  shall  the 
translator  employ  ? 


BIBLE  TRANSLATION  201 

Controversy  on  this  subject  lasted  long,  and  even  yet  is 
not  finally  at  rest.  Both  terms  have  been  kept  in  use,  and, 
when  a  reprint  of  the  Scriptures  is  demanded,  a  portion 
thereof  is  printed  with  the  term  Shang  Ti,  and  another 
portion  with  the  term  Shen.  Recent  inquiry  has  shown 
that  a  large  majority  of  missionaries  are  in  favour  of  Shang 
Ti,  and  it  is  possible  that  at  the  1907  Conference  this 
term  will  be  adopted.  It  has  the  advantage  of  giving 
the  clearer  monotheistic  idea  of  the  two,  and  its  use, 
from  time  immemorial,  for  the  Highest  Being  known 
to  the  Chinese,  gives  it  an  eminent,  if  not  pre-eminent 
claim. 

The  Rev.  Dr  Mateer  has  lately  published  a  very  admirable 
and  exhaustive  series  of  quotations  from  Chinese  authors, 
with  the  view  of  upholding  the  claim  of  the  term  Shen,  and 
he  has  advanced  much  of  value  in  its  support.  It  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  every  Chinese  word,  unlike  our  Western 
words,  is  per  se  neither  singular  nor  plural ;  it  may  be  either ; 
though  just  as  the  nouns  sheep,  deer,  grouse,  in  English, 
are  generally  understood  in  the  plural,  unless  preceded  by 
an  article  or  numerative,  so,  in  Chinese,  nouns  are  genercilly 
plural  unless  qualified  by  another  word.  In  English  we  can 
say  in  one  word,  god  or  gods,  in  Greek,  theos  or  theoi,  but 
in  Chinese,  where  there  is  no  declension,  the  word  Shen 
conveys  the  meaning  of  "  gods  "  other  than  God.  Conse- 
quently a  word  like  Shang  Ti,  though  not  in  itself  singular, 
and  even  applied  with  qualifying  additions  to  a  few  other 
gods,  yet  by  classical  usage  carries  with  it  when  unqualified 
the  singular  meaning,  and  therefore  claims  more  general 
acceptance  for  purposes  of  translation. 

Again,  what  word  shall  our  translator  use  for  Spirit  ? 
Shen  in  ancient  times  covered  this  meaning,  for  it  is  used  in 
the  classics  for  the  spirits  of  the  departed,  and  for  the  human 
soul,  as  well  as  for  local  deities.  But  there  is  another 
word,  Ling,  which  means  spirit  or  intelligence,  and  which 
has  come  into  general  use  amongst  the  Christians  for  spirit. 
Despite  a  persistent  attempt  to  introduce  Shen,  and  Sheng 
Shen  for  spirit  and  Holy  Spirit,  Ling  and  Sheng  Ling  have 
held  their  own,  and  it  is  possible  they  may  receive  adoption, 
for  Shen  implies  the  gods,  and  Sheng  Shen  the  holy  gods. 


202  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

whereas  Sheng  Ling  is  a  term  comparatively  free  from 
idolatrous  associations. 

Another  term  which  has  caused  the  printing  of  separate 
editions  for  the  American  Baptists,  is  the  word  for  baptism. 
Adopting  the  term  introduced  by  the  Roman  branch  of  the 
church,  Dr  Morrison  employed  the  word  Si,  to  wash,  or  lave. 
Dr  Marshman  in  his  version  introduced  the  term  Chan,  to 
dip,  steep,  soak.  To  this  day  the  American  Baptists  employ 
this  term,  and  have  their  separate  "  chan  "  version.  Happily 
in  Wenchow  we  have  had  no  such  difficulty  to  face,  for  our 
colleagues  of  the  China  Inland  Mission,  though  Baptists, 
themselves  use  the  term  Si. 

Some  of  the  difficulties  of  the  translator  may  be  seen  by 
a  glance  at  the  first  chapter  of  St  John's  Gospel.  Take  the 
opening  phrase,  "  In  the  beginning,"  and  note  how  much 
depends  upon  the  article.  But  there  is  no  article  in  Chinese, 
so  how  is  it  to  be  expressed  ?  The  word  "  in  "  also  materially 
affects  the  meaning,  but  it  cannot  be  satisfactorily  translated 
into  the  language.  Ch'i-ts'u,  "  rise-first,"  has  been  used  by 
some,  as  it  means  "  first,  at  first,  outset."  T'a-ts'u  has  been 
used  by  others,  and  means  "  very  first,"  but  conveys  the 
idea  of  "at  the  very  beginning  "  ;  hence  this  has  received 
general  adoption. 

"  Was  the  Word."  Yu  does  fairly  well  for  "  was,"  though 
its  strict  meaning  is  "  have."  "  The  Word."  What  are 
we  to  do  without  the  article  !  Simply  "  Word,"  leaves  a 
large  measure  of  uncertainty  as  to  whether  the  whole  or 
only  a  part  is  meant,  and  might  be  read,  "  At  the  very  outset 
there  was  speech."  Indeed  we  cannot  employ  the  term 
"  Word  "  at  all,  as  it  would  convey  no  idea  of  the  meaning 
it  conveyed  to  the  early  Christians.  With  them  Logos, 
the  Word,  had  already  a  philosophic  value,  which  by  no 

means  attaches  to  the  Chinese  terms  ^  (sounds  ^^  issuing 
from  mouth  R),  or  "|"jf  (words  "g*  and  tongue  -g-).     This 

has  necessitated  the  search  for  a  character  conveying  an 
approximate  meaning,  and  such  a  one  has  been  found  in  the 

character  ^  Tao,  composed  of  ^,  head,  and  J^,  to  go, 
and  meaning  the  right  path,  the  way,  the  doctrine.     Thus, 


BIBLE  TRANSLATION  203 

then,  the  nearest  we  can  approach  to  our  original  text  is, 
T'a  ts'u  jm  Tao,  Hterally,  "  Very  beginning  was  Way  "  or, 
"  At  the  very  first  was  the  doctrine." 

In  a  land,  where  tens  of  thousands  of  men  make  a  living  by 
prognostication  and  divination,  it  is  strange  that  there  is 
not  a  word,  or  reasonable  combination  of  words,  to  represent 
the  name  "  Prophet."  Sien-chi  is  the  term  invented  by  trans- 
lators, but  it  means  nothing  more  than  fore-know.  The 
glorious  idea,  contained  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament  word, 
of  forth-telling,  or  foretelling,  is  absent  from  the  term  trans- 
lators have  felt  driven  to  adopt. 

As  to  the  word  "  priest,"  no  one  in  his  senses  would  ever 
dream  that,  in  a  country  swarming  with  Buddhist  and  Taoist 
"  priests,"  there  would  be  any  difficulty  in  finding  a  suitable 
term.  Yet  on  examination  we  find  that  these  men  are  not 
priests  but  monks,  and  the  translator  has  to  coin  a  name, 
unsatisfactory  of  course,  but  as  near  as  the  idea  can  be  ap- 
proached. Chi-sz  is  the  word  employed,  and  its  meaning 
is  simply  "  controller  of  the  sacrifices,"  or  a  man  who  is 
appointed  to  offer  sacrifice. 

Again,  in  a  land  which  lives  so  much  from  hand  to  mouth, 
and  is  always  like  Mr  Micawber  looking  for  something  to 
turn  up,  the  word  "  hope  "  should  surely  be  in  daily,  nay 
hourly  use.  Alas  !  the  very  indifferent  word  "wang,"  observe, 
expect,  has  to  reveal  what  it  can  of  the  Apostle's  meaning, 
and  often  one  is  inclined  to  think  that  the  Chinese  are  to  the 
very  letter  without  "  God  "  and  without  "  hope  "  in  the 
world. 

The  words  "  heir  "  and  "  inheritance  "  ought  to  be  quite 
easy  of  translation  in  a  land  where  the  number  of  lawsuits 
and  quarrels  over  the  property  of  childless  relatives  is  legion. 
But  here  again  one  is  doomed  to  disappointment.  No  man 
may  will  his  property  away  in  China  as  in  England  ;  his 
heirs  are  already  fixed  by  the  law  of  the  land,  and,  though 
he  have  never  a  son  of  his  own,  his  daughter  cannot  inherit. 
But  the  native  term  in  use  for  "  heir  "  is  "  sacrificial  substi- 
tute," or  some  other  word  implying  ancestral  sacrifice,  and 
how  can  such  a  term  be  used  for  "  heirs  of  God  and  joint 
heirs  with  Jesus  Christ  "  ! 

This  country  is  one  vast  farm,  and  yet  no  suitable  word 


204  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

can  be  found  for  "  first-fruits."  There  is  no  people  on  the 
face  of  the  earth  which  carries  such  burdens  on  its  shoulders, 
and  yet  we  are  unprovided  with  an  appropriate  rendering 
of  "  burdensome "  and  "  burden,"  in  the  sense  found  in 
Corinthians.  And  though  an  unceasing  torrent  of  cursing 
hourly  floods  the  land,  it  is  a  puzzle  to  find  a  good  colloquial 
translation  of  "  accursed  "  in  Galatians. 

With  what  earnestness  have  we  sought  to  express  the 
abstract  noun  truth  in  one  word,  but  "  chen  "  is  only  an  adjec- 
tive, and  cannot  be  used  for  truth,  save  with  a  noun.  You 
may  speak  of  a  true  word,  a  true  God,  a  true  way,  but  in  this 
land  of  false  words,  false  gods,  and  false  ways,  the  qualifying 
word  "  true  "  has  never  had  a  chance  to  become  the  sub- 
stantive "  truth." 

Even  "  death,"  which  daily  causes  the  wail  to  arise  from 
myriads  of  breasts,  does  not  exist,  except  in  the  form  of 
dying  or  die.  And  as  to  "  life,"  we  cannot  use  "  huo  "  alone, 
for  it  is  a  verb  or  adjective,  and  so  we  faU  back  necessarily 
on  "sheng,"  which  has  become  deflected  from  its  original  mean- 
ing "  produce,"  or  "  beget,"  to  mean  the  born,  the  living  ; 
or  we  adopt  "sheng-ming,"  ming  meaning  life  in  the  sense  of 
fate  or  decree.  Consequently,  in  this  land  which  has  the 
greatest  birth  and  death  record  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  we 
find  it  colloquially  far  from  easy  to  express  the  nouns  life 
and  death. 

If  these  simpler  cases  present  such  a  formidable  front, 
what  is  to  be  done  with  the  deeper  things  of  Scripture  ! 
What  are  we  to  do  with  such  unknown  ideas  as  holiness, 
communion,  godhead,  fellowship,  revelation,  propitiation, 
resurrection,  and  a  host  of  others  !  Suffice  it,  that  into 
words  but  feebly  indicative  of  noble  sentiments,  nobility 
is  being  imparted,  and  just  as,  for  instance,  the  Greek  word 
for  "  love  "  acquired,  under  the  "  fulfilling  "  power  of  Chris- 
tian influence,  a  richer  and  deeper  meaning,  so,  amongst 
other  words  "  ai,"  love,  which  in  China  contains  neither 
warmth  nor  life,  is  being  invested  with  that  power  which 
everywhere  makes  love  to  be  "  the  greatest  thing  in  the 
world." 

Another  difficulty  that,  at  the  outset,  faces  the  trans- 
lator into  a  vernacular  is,  what  kind  of  vernacular  he  shall 


BIBLE  TRANSLATION  205 

use.  Is  it  to  be  "  coolie  Chinese,"  or  the  speech  of  the 
educated.  In  the  former,  for  instance,  the  word  for  "  father  " 
here  is  ah-pa,  which  someone  has  said  is  like  our  English 
"  dad  "  or  "  daddy  "  ;  and  the  word  for  mother  is  n-na, 
the  one  who  gives  milk  ;  whereas  all  classes  understand, 
and  occasionally  use,  the  proper  words  vu  and  mu.  In  all 
cases  like  this,  decision  is  easy,  and  "  vu  "  and  "  mu  "  are 
adopted. 

The  word  for  "  blind  "  is  not  so  simple.  The  proper  term 
is  hah-nga,  blind-eyed,  but  the  people  usually  speak  of  the 
moh-doa-ge,  or  "  place-feeler."  Husband  and  wife,  "  fu"  and 
"  is'i,"  should  be  weU-known,  but  husband  in  colloquial  is 
always  no-tsz,  male,  man,  or  no-tsz-k'ah,  man  guest.  Wife 
is  Ide-iie-nyang,  "  old  comforter,"  or  "  loe  ue-nyang-k'ah," 
literally,  old  peace  man  guest.  Sun  and  moon  should  be 
zaih  and  nyiieh,  but  sun  has  been  turned  into  nyieh-diu  vaih, 
the  sun  (or  heat)  Buddha,  and  t'a-yie  vaih,  the  great  male 
(or  positive-principle  Buddha)  ;  while  moon  has  been  turned 
into  nyueh-koa  vaih,  the  moon-light  Buddha,  or  t'a  iang, 
the  great  female  (or  negative)  principle. 

Such  are  a  few  samples  of  the  many  difficulties  which 
keep  the  translator's  brain  active, — or  turn  it.  Let  it  not, 
however,  be  thought  that  he  is  content  to  give  an  emascu- 
lated or  inferior  version  of  the  Word  of  God  to  his  people. 
He  neither  is,  nor  can  be  content,  till  he  has  provided  the 
reader  with  a  translation  as  accurate  and  chaste  as  in  him 
lies,  and  as  the  language  in  its  present  condition  permits. 
Faulty  his  translation  must  always  be  ;  all  early  efforts  are. 
Who  would  care  to  read  Wycliff's  or  Tyndall's  versions  now  ? 
Yet  in  their  day  they  were  read  as  never  books  had  been  read 
in  England. 

To  sum  up  then,  in  China  we  have  a  classical  version  of 
the  Scriptuies,  that  in  elegance  takes  rank  with  the  best 
literature  of  the  country.  We  have  an  easy  Wen-li,  which 
is  both  graceful  and  readily  understood  by  men  of  fair  educa- 
tion. We  have  also  the  mandarin,  which  makes  up  for 
occasional  lapses  in  accuracy  by  excellence  of  style,  and 
which,  moreover,  has  already  commenced  to  do  what  the 
English  Bible  did  for  England,  in  pioneering  the  way  for  a 
great  literature  in  the  mandarin  language.     This  language, 


2o6  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

through  the  advent  of  the  railway  and  other  improved  means 
of  communication,  promises  to  become  what  Enghsh  is 
throughout  the  British  Isles,  the  lingua  franca  of  the  whole 
Empire. 

As  has  already  been  shown,  these  three  versions  are  under- 
going revision,  not  because  of  lack  of  elegance,  but  because 
of  the  demand  for  accuracy.  When  the  classical  version 
was  last  revised  in  1850,  there  were  only  three  hundred 
baptised  converts  in  China.  When  the  mandarin  version 
was  first  published  in  1872,  there  were  only  ten  thousand. 
To-day  there  is  a  great  and  increasing  body  of  readers,  and 
the  Bible  Societies  now  annually  distribute  two  million 
copies  of  the  Scriptures,  whole  or  in  part. 

The  romanised  versions  have  had  considerable  success, 
especially  in  Ningpo,  Amoy  and  Swatow.  The  latest  com- 
plete version  of  the  New  Testament  that  has  appeared  is 
our  Wenchow  version,  the  translation  of  which  I  had  the 
privilege  of  completing  in  1903.  The  Rev.  E.  and  Mrs  Hunt, 
of  the  China  Inland  Mission,  rendered  valued  aid  by  their 
notes  and  suggestions,  and  the  version  was  accepted  by  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  at  whose  expense  it  was 
printed  here  in  Wenchow,  under  the  supervision  of  the  Rev. 
B.  W.  Upward,  a  mission  press  having  been  established 
specially  for  this  purpose. 

No  period  of  my  life  has  been  so  full  of  enlightenment,  of 
enrichment,  or  of  inspiration,  as  the  laborious  years  spent 
in  translating  the  Word  of  God  into  this  language,  and  of 
one  thing  I  am  convinced,  that  whatever  benefit  others  may 
receive,  the  translator  is  himself  the  chief  individual  gainer. 

Our  Christians  treasure  their  Bibles,  and  it  is  a  joy  to  see 
their  weU-thumbed  copies.  Last  night  as  I  took  service  in 
a  Chinese  house  with  a  congregation  of  seventy  or  eighty 
around  me,  there  was  Ah  Loa  pah  with  his  big  print  Bible, 
his  daily  companion ;  there  were  two  biblewomen  devoutly 
following  as  I  read  the  lesson  ;  there  were  half  a  dozen  school- 
girls all  with  their  copies ;  many  of  the  men  spelt  their  way 
as  I  slowly  read  the  message,  and  even  some  of  the  women 
stumbled  down  the  page  after  us.  They  carefully  wrap 
their  copies  in  handkerchiefs  ere  departing,  so  that  the  leaves 
or  cover  may  not  be  torn,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  they 


BIBLE  TRANSLATION  207 

keep  them  wrapped  up  till  next  service,  for  the  daily  reading 
is  the  daily  pleasure  of  many  who,  a  few  years  ago,  bent  the 
knee  and  put  the  forehead  in  the  dust  before  an  idol  made 
of  clay.  Now  with  the  Psalmist  they  joyfully  cry.  "  Thy 
Word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet,  and  a  light  unto  my  path." 


XIV 
TYPICAL  TEMPLES 

"  It  is  the  land  of  graven  images,  and  they  are  mad  upon  their 
idols." 

Thinking  that  an  account  of  the  religions  we  come  "  not  to 
destroy  but  to  fulfil "  might  be  interesting  to  the  reader, 
and  desiring  to  discriminate  as  clearly  as  possible  between 
the  three  religions,  Confucianism,  Taoism,  and  Buddism, 
which  though  theoretically  antagonistic  are  on  terms  suffi- 
ciently intimate  to  borrow  each  others  garments  without 
asking,  I  had  a  list  made  of  the  principal  temples  in  the 
Wenchow  city.  There  were  forty-four  of  them.  So  far 
all  was  easy.  The  next  thing  was  to  classify  them,  and  here 
my  assistant  and  myself  were  soon  stuck  like  a  Chinese  cart 
in  the  northern  mud. 

We  had  no  difficulty  in  putting  thirteen  under  the  head 
of  Buddhism,  six  in  the  Taoist  list,  and  four  under  the  title 
of  Confucianist,  but  what  of  the  remaining  score  ?  Were 
they  indeed  Confucian,  and  was  that  cult  really  as  idolatrous 
as  this  list  implied  ?  Did  it  actually  own  over  twenty  im- 
portant temples  in  this  city,  dedicated  to  all  sorts  and  con- 
ditions of  deities  ?  Here  were  temples  to  the  king  of  the 
Eastern  Peak,  to  the  king  of  the  Peaceful  Waters,  to  the  king 
of  Medicine,  to  the  god  of  Fire,  the  North  Star,  the  White 
Horse,  the  god  of  the  Sea,  the  Queen  Consort  of  Heaven, 
and  many  others.  The  Buddhist  monk  definitely  disclaimed 
them  ;  the  Taoist  monk  hesitated  to  claim  them.  To  whom 
then  could  they  belong  ? 

We  put  them  all  under  the  heading  of  Confucianism,  and 
sent  the  list  as  now  arranged,  to  an  eminent  native  scholar, 
with  a  request  that  he  would  put  us  right  if  we  were  wrong 
in  our  classification.     He  immediately  accepted  our  category 


TYPICAL  TEMPLES  209 

of  Buddhist  and  Taoist  temples,  but  on  reaching  those  debited 
to  his  own  Church  of  the  Learned,  hesitation  got  hold  upon 
him.  Finally  he  marked  off  five  from  the  number,  two  to 
Confucius,  two  to  the  god  of  Literature,  who  dwells  in  the 
northern  constellation,  and  one  to  Kwan-ti,  an  ancient  hero, 
now  the  god  of  War.  As  to  the  rest  he  said  that  strictly 
speaking  they  did  not  belong  to  the  Ju  Chiao — literally, 
the  Doctrine  of  the  Learned,  commonly  known  amongst 
foreigners  as  Confucianism — but  seeing  the  gods  were  all 
deified  Chinese,  who  mostly  had  been  members  of  the  Ju 
Chiao,  the  temples  no  doubt  were,  in  a  sense,  Confucian. 

Let  us  set  out  then  to  the  first  on  the  list.  It  is  dedicated 
to  the  guardian  deity  of  the  county.  Ten  minutes'  walk 
away  is  another  to  the  guardian  deity  of  the  city,  but  as 
they  resemble  each  other  we  wiU  confine  our  visit  to  this  one. 
Here  at  the  entrance  all  doubt  as  to  classification  disappears 
at  once,  for  we  behold  two  proclamations,  engraved  in  stone, 
and  erected  by  the  two  superintendents  of  the  Ju  Chiao,  one 
of  whom  resides  in  the  county  temple  dedicated  to  the  sage, 
the  other  in  his  city  temple.  These  notifications  indicate 
the  price  to  be  paid  for  flesh  for  the  half-yearly  sacrifices,  and 
threaten  condign  punishment  to  extortioners,  a  punishment 
never  administered,  though  not  from  any  lack  of  the 
necessary  material.  Thus  we  are  able  to  assure  ourselves 
that  this  is  without  doubt  a  temple  belonging  to  the 
philosophy  of  "  the  Learned." 

As  we  enter  v/e  notice  on  our  right  a  great  white  horse,  the 
Chui  Fung,  or  Fleet  as  the  Wind,  who  at  the  behest  of  his 
master  is  swift  as  a  cyclone  in  pursuit  of  the  evil-doer,  whether 
he  be  in  the  flesh  or  out  of  the  flesh.  On  our  left  is  a  dark 
horse,  the  Che  Dien,  or  Lightning  Seizer,  whose  aim  is  relent- 
less as  the  Ughtning's  fiery  dart.  Others  say  that  they  are 
the  two  swift  post-horses  of  the  god  within,  for  bearing  his 
despatches  with  speed. 

The  main  entrance,  or  "  Ceremonial  Gate,"  now  faces  us. 
We  are  charmed  to  be  told  that  this  is  the  Gate  of  Ceremony. 
By  our  own  unaided  wisdom  we  should  never  have  guessed 
it ;  for  here  is  a  shoemaker  unceremoniously  cobbling  a 
pair  of  very  old  shoes  ;  there  is  an  itinerant  barber  uncere- 
moniously shaving  a  man's  pate ;  close  by — too  close  for 
o 


2IO  A  MISS/ON  IN  CHINA 

our  comfort — is  a  representative  of  the  great  unsoaped, 
very  unceremoniously  engaged  in  entomological  pursuits 
upon  his  ragged  shirt.  We  are  pleased  indeed  to  read  that 
this  is  the  Gate  of  Ceremony  !  Twice  a  month,  we  are  told, 
all  this  is  swept  aside,  or  rather  a  roadway  is  brushed  through 
it  for  an  hour,  while  the  county  prefect  comes  to  worship 
his  colleague  the  county  god. 

Passing  through  this  gate  we  enter  a  quadrangle.  In  it 
four  ragged  trees  are  planted,  one  at  each  corner  ;  close  by 
us  is  the  god's  great  theatrical  stage,  from  which  he  is  enter- 
tained with  plays  several  times  a  year,  and  a  stone  path  runs 
straight  up  from  it  to  the  main  hall  of  the  temple.  There 
His  Spirit  Excellency  takes  his  seat  whenever  his  huge  drum 
is  beaten,  and  there  the  visible  part  of  him  may  always  be 
seen,  made  of  painted  clay.  Two  long  side  buildings,  like 
cloisters,  join  the  main  building  to  the  portico  under  which 
we  stand.  Shall  we  go  straight  up  the  centre  walk  to  the 
throne  of  His  Excellency,  or  up  one  side,  then  through  the 
main  building  and  down  the  other  side  ?  Let  us  go  up  the 
right  side  first. 

Here,  then,  to  begin  with  is  a  shrine  to  the  Five  Epidemic 
gods  with  their  thirty-six  pixies.  These  five  gods  are  also 
called  the  Five  Crowned  Heads,  a  term  also  applied  to  Typhoid 
Fever,  over  which  they  have  special  power.  Near  the 
Fever  gods,  and  not  inappropriately,  comes  the  Fire  Engine, 
The  Fire  Brigades  of  China  do  good  service  during  the  out- 
break of  the  frequent  fires  which  play  such  havoc  with  her 
wooden  cities.  Their  instruments  are  very  primitive,  but 
as  the  helmeted  men  rush  along  in  the  dark  of  the  night 
with  their  buckets  and  their  little  pump,  with  torches  blazing, 
lit  flags  flying,  and  gongs  braying,  they  are  quite  impressive  ; 
and  certainly,  if  noise  could  do  it,  they  would  awaken  even 
the  god  of  Fire  from  his  slumbers,  and  induce  him  to  exert 
his  authority.  The  brigades  are  always  connected  with 
temples,  and  as  the  Chinaman  has  a  god  for  everything, 
so  has  he  a  god  for  his  fire  engine. 

Next  come  three  of  the  Six  Bureaux,  which  are  found  here 
as  in  every  important  yamen,  for  this  temple  is  arranged 
as  a  Spirit  Yamen.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  just  as 
the  Chinese  had  discovered  gunpowder,  the  mariner's  compass. 


TYPICAL  TEMPLES  211 

printing  from  blocks,  porcelain,  the  loose-tongiied  organ 
reed,  and  almost  every  other  thing  worth  knowing,  almost 
before  anybody  else  was  born,  so  also  had  they  discovered 
"  the  natural  law  in  the  spiritual  world "  ages  before 
Drummond  appeared  on  the  occidental  stage.  Even 
Drummond  apparently  could  only  conceive  a  principle, 
and  was  unable  to  follow  it  into  its  logical  ramifications. 
But  what  could  be  expected  of  a  poor  barbarian  !  It  required 
a  Chinaman  to  thoroughly  apprehend  this  law,  which  after 
all  is  simple  enough  "  even  for  a  woman  to  understand." 
It  can  be  expressed  in  a  sentence,  thus  :  As  is  the  terrestrial 
{i.e.  China)  so  is  the  celestial.  Ergo,  as  there  is  a  county 
prefect  in  the  visible,  so  must  there  be  one  in  the  invisible 
world.  And  as  each  county  prefect  has  six  boards,  or  offices 
in  his  yamen,  so  must  there  be  six  spirit  bureaux  in  the  spirit 
world,  each  presided  over  by  a  deceased  Chinaman,  who,  in 
consequence  of  faithfulness  during  his  life-time,  has  been 
imperially  canonised  and  sent  to  be  spirit  secretary  to  the 
ruler  of  the  spirit  world  in  the  county  to  which  he  is  appointed. 

Here  then  are  six  shrines,  three  this  side,  three  the  other. 
The  first  we  come  to  is  that  of  the  Board  of  Rites.  Within 
it  sits,  larger  than  life  size,  a  bearded  image  of  a  benevolent 
old  man,  by  whose  side  are  two  fuU-sized  figures  of  his  secre- 
taries, one  smiling  and  benignant,  the  other  black-visaged 
and  frowning  ;  the  one  holding  the  book  of  rewards,  the 
other  that  of  punishments.  In  front  is  a  censer  and  candle- 
sticks. Over  the  shrine  his  various  offices  are  inscribed. 
He  has  charge,  we  note,  of  all  matters  relating  to  rank  and 
degrees,  which  have  their  root  in  a  former  existence  ;  he  also 
holds  the  book  of  life  and  death,  that  is,  heaven  or  hell ;  he 
keeps  account  of  the  merit  laid  up  by  fasting,  and  by  the 
intoning  of  sacred  books. 

Next  comes  the  Domestic  Board,  or  Treasury.  Fronting 
us  is  another  large  image  of  a  bearded  man  of  middle  age, 
also  with  his  two  secretaries,  similar  to  the  first.  On  the 
tablet  above  we  read  that  his  duties,  like  all  the  other  five, 
are  comprised  under  four  heads.  His  relate  to  the  family, 
namely,  to  see  that  good  parents  obtain  sons  and  grandsons, 
and  wicked  parents  be  deprived  of  them  ;  he  has  charge 
also  of  the  harvest ;  of  wealth,  its  use  and  abuse  ;  and  of  the 


212  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

distribution  of  the  good  at  rebirth  in  wealthy  families,  and 
the  bad  in  poor  families  ! 

Following  this  shrine  is  another  styled  the  Board  of  Appoint- 
ments. Herein  another  middle-aged  bearded  man  faces  us, 
whose  duties  consist  in  noting  down  the  conduct  of  the  local 
mandarins,  and  registering  all  their  bribes  and  squeezes  ; 
in  entering  up  all  families  with  virtuous  offspring,  with  a 
view  to  granting  them  happiness  and  long  life  ;  in  observing 
what  sons  are  filial  and  reverent  to  their  parents,  fraternal 
to  their  elder  brothers,  and  well-disposed  to  their  friends  ; 
and  finally  in  reporting  the  virtue  that  arises  from  releasing 
living  creatures  from  death  —  chiefly  consisting  of  snakes 
caught  for  that  purpose. 

What  is  this  hanlsome  tablet  recently  hung  up  here, 
glorious  in  lacquer  and  gilt  ?  "  He  has  protected  our  five 
parishes."  It  is  presented  by  a  magistrate  who  has  just 
left  us,  an  avowed  Confucianist.  Evidently  then  this  is  a 
Confucian  temple,  though  not  a  temple  to  Confucius.  We 
pass  beneath  the  tablet  and  enter  the  main  hall.  On  our 
right  is  a  long  table,  behind  which  sits  a  cadaverous  opium- 
smoker.  He  is  a  fortune-teller,  and  is  prepared  to  choose  a 
lucky  day  for  your  son's  wedding,  or  tell  you  whether  the 
dose  of  medicine  you  propose  to  take  will  suit  your  case, 
or — any  mortal  thing  you  like.  Indeed  he  is  quite  willing 
to  go  beyond  the  range  of  the  mortal  if  you  wish  it. 

Behind  him,  guarded  by  a  palisade,  are  three  huge  standing 
figures,  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  hall  are  three  more. 
These  are  the  six  clerks  of  the  spirit  prefect,  corresponding 
to  the  six  clerks  who  stand  in  line  on  both  sides  of  the  living 
prefect  when  he  ascends  his  dais.  Over  each  of  these  clay 
clerks  is  a  list  giving  the  name  of  the  living  holder  of  the 
corresponding  office  in  the  prefect's  yamen,  and  those  of  his 
staff.  These  lists  announce  the  dates  appointed  to  each  for 
offering  incense  at  the  shrine  of  his  patron  in  the  invisible 
world. 

With  such  an  array  of  evidence  before  him  who  will  accuse 
the  Chinese  of  lack  of  logic  ?  If  the  natural  law  in  truth 
rules  in  the  spiritual  world,  then  the  Government  of  Heaven 
is  naturally  on  the  model  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  and  Shang 
Ti  (God)  must  have  bis  officers,  just  as  Hwang  Ti  (the  king) 


TYPICAL  TEMPLES  213 

has  his.  Without  such  officers  how  could  he  get  through 
his  work ! 

At  last  we  stand  before  the  great  shrine  of  His  Excellency, 
the  Spirit  Ruler  over  our  two  millions  of  Wenchow  people,  and 
the  many  tens  of  millions  of  Wenchow  ghosts  and  devils  the 
number  of  which  it  is  beyond  human  skill  to  affirm.  The 
shrine  is  as  imposing  as  it  is  untidy.  Within  it,  whenever  a 
petitioner  beats  the  drum,  must  His  Excellency  sit  sweltering 
behind  those  dirty  curtains,  and  longing  in  vain  for  some  one 
to  come  and  let  in  the  breeze,  or  fan  him  this  hot  day.  You 
cannot  see  him,  except  by  going  up  close  to  the  shrine  and 
putting  back  the  curtains.  Then  you  find  to  your  surprise 
that  he  is  less  in  size  than  his  underlings.  Why  this  strange 
anomaly  ?  Well,  if  you  must  be  inquisitive,  the  real  reason 
is  that  the  secretaries  never  go  out,  while  His  Excellency  is 
sometimes  required  to  go  in  procession  through  the  city. 
The  Chinese  are  a  canny  race  ;  clay  is  heavy,  therefore  a 
small  image  is  easier  to  carry,  also  a  large  one  if  joggled  too 
hard  might  shed  an  arm,  or  even  a  head  on  the  way ;  that 
is  why  His  Excellency  is  made  small  and  portable. 

There  he  sits  eight  or  ten  feet  above  the  ground.  In  front 
of  him  stretches  the  great  altar,  standing  six  feet  high  ; 
below  it  is  the  smaller  altar,  and  lower  still  another  square 
altar  on  which  offerings  are  placed.  Candles  and  incense 
are  burning,  and  a  lamp  hangs  in  front,  exhaling  lamp-black 
day  and  night. 

What  are  these  numerous  forms  prostrate  before  this 
powerful  deity  ?  Are  they  the  reverent  outlines  of  many  wor- 
shippers, who  offer  their  most  humble  homage  and  beseech 
his  powerful  aid  ?  Are  they  thus  bowed  in  fervent  adoration, 
or  seeking  the  pardon  of  their  sins  and  help  to  live  a 
righteous  life  ?  Far  from  it.  Let  no  such  Western  notions 
colour  the  glorious  Orient,  for,  where  God  is  not  worshipped, 
such  experiences  do  not  tinge  the  national  life.  Adoration  is 
unknown  in  the  Far  East.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  month 
is  July,  the  hour  is  noon,  and  the  heat  outside  is  intolerable, 
even  with  sun-hat  and  umbrella.  His  Excellency's  temple 
is  cool  and  shady,  and  the  concrete  floor  by  no  means  too 
hard  for  a  tired  man,  nor  the  straw  kneeling  mats  too  dirty 
for  his  head.     These  prostrate  forms  are  coolies,  who  have 


214  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

turned  in  from  the  scorching  streets  for  their  siesta,  and  some 
of  them  are  audibly  enjoying  it. 

What  are  all  those  red  labels,  which  look  like  Chinese 
visiting-cards,  pasted  along  the  front  of  His  Excellency's 
shrine,  beneath  his  footstool  ?  Though  left  by  callers  they 
are  not  ordinary  visiting-cards.  Here  is  one  beseeching  the 
influence  of  His  Excellency  to  restore  him  to  health,  and 
promising  that  on  his  recovery  he  will  come  with  offerings 
of  a  pig's  head,  a  goose,  and  a  fowl.  The  next  card,  also 
asking  for  recovery  from  sickness,  promises  that  the  peti- 
tioner will  walk  in  chains  as  a  criminal  in  His  Excellency's 
next  procession.  Here  is  a  long  petition  complaining  that 
the  petitioner  has  wrongly  been  accused  of  gambling,  and 
that  the  accusers  are  endeavouring  to  squeeze  large  sums 
out  of  him,  that  the  judge  has  called  up  the  case  for  trial, 
but  the  accusers  delay  to  appear,  that  his  trade  is  being 
ruined  and  his  life  made  intolerable  by  this  charge  lying  over 
him,  and  he  beseeches  His  Excellency  to  avenge  him  of  his 
adversaries,  and  clear  his  tarnished  name. 

These  prayers  and  appeals  have  all  been  written  in  duplicate. 
One  copy  has  been  burnt  before  His  Excellency's  shrine,  to 
make  sure  that  it  reached  the  ethereal  regions,  the  petitioner 
also  offering  incense  and  prostrating  himself  to  the  ground, 
touching  or  nearly  touching  it  nine  times  with  his  forehead, 
which  obeisance  is  commonly  known  as  a  kotow.  Having 
performed  his  worship  he  affixes  the  duplicate  appeal  to  the 
foot  of  His  Excellency's  shrine,  and  departs  in  peace.  Should 
he  not  speedily  recover,  away  he  or  his  proxy  goes  to  some 
other  god  with  a  similar  petition,  and  to  several  others  after- 
wards if  necessary,  reminding  one  of  the  lady  who  never  had 
a  place  for  anything,  and  who  took  comfort  therefrom  that 
she  had  all  the  more  places  in  which  to  search  ! 

His  Excellency  is  not  a  permanent  resident ;  for,  just  as 
the  prefect  in  the  flesh  has  a  nominal  six  years'  tenure  of  his 
post,  so  the  spirit  prefect  is  also  subject  to  transfer.  The 
present  tenant  of  the  office  bears  the  surname  of  Ling,  or 
Grove,  and  his  personal  name  is  Tsai  Shang,  or  Bearer  of 
Felicity.  During  his  earthly  life-time  he  was  a  native  of 
Canton,  and  has  now  held  office  here  ten  years.  When  a 
change  is  desirable  a  present  of  ten  dollars  or  so  to  the  Taoist 


TYPICAL  TEMPLES  215 

Pope  is  said  to  be  sufficient  to  bring  about  the  desired  result, 
with  an  imperial  rescript  to  make  it  effectual.  Let  us  ask 
this  fortune-teller  whether  His  Excellency  will  take  away 
his  body  when  he  is  next  transferred. 

"  Honoured  Rider-in-a-carriage  " — a  thing  he  has  never 
seen,  but  we  may  as  well  be  polite — "  when  His  Excellency 
is  transferred  from  Wenchow  will  he  take  his  body — does 
the  image  accompany  him  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  no  indeed  :  the  image  remains  for  the  new  arrival," 
he  answers  with  a  grin,  for  the  Chinese  are  generally  ashamed 
of  their  idolatry  in  the  presence  of  a  foreigner.  So  the  new 
deity  takes  up  his  abode  in  the  cast-off  clay  !  Convenient, 
no  doubt,  but  how  fortunate  that  exchanging  bodies  is  not  a 
human  accomplishment  ! 

On  His  Excellency's  right  is  a  large  shrine  to  the  Chinese 
Esculapius — evidently  even  a  god  is  none  the  worse  for  having 
a  doctor  at  hand.  Next  is  another  shrine  to  the  five  spirit 
gods  of  the  five  divisions  which  are  under  His  Excellency's 
control.  On  his  left  is  a  large  shrine  to  the  five  gods  of  the 
five  blessings  :  happiness,  government-pay,  long  life,  pleasure, 
and  sons  ;  further  on  is  another  to  some  other  god  ;  in  the 
adjoining  building  are  the  sixty  gods  of  the  Chinese  cycle, 
one  for  each  year,  and  a  host  of  others,  really  too  many  for 
one  day's  inquiry. 

What  is  this  building  behind  ?  "  Are  there  more  idols 
in  there  ?  "  we  ask  our  friend  the  astrologer.  "  No,  this 
building  contains  the  private  apartments  of  His  Excellency 
and  his  family.  It  is  at  present  being  used  as  an  assembly 
hall  by  the  newly-constituted  Chamber  of  Commerce." 
You  notice  that  female  angels  or  deities  are  painted  on  the 
gates,  indicating  that  within  are  the  women's  quarters.  Who 
ever  heard  of  a  prefect,  or  any  other  prominent  mandarin, 
taking  up  an  appointment  without  carrying  his  wives  and 
families  with  him  !  And  if  marriage  is  divine  shall  the  gods 
be  less  divine  than  men  !  Moreover,  how  would  it  be  possible 
for  any  god  to  stay  mewed  up  in  his  shrine  day  and  night 
behind  those  stuffy  curtains  !  No,  he  too  must  have  his 
bed-room,  his  dining-room,  his  library,  his  harem,  his  theatre. 

But  we  must  leave.  Let  us  go  down  the  opposite  side  to 
that  we  have  described.     Here  are  shrines  to  the  Heads  of 


2i6  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

the  three  other  Boards.  First,  the  War  Office,  represented  by 
an  elderly  man  and  his  two  secretaries,  whose  duties  cover 
affairs  relating  to  wandering  demons,  fires,  the  soldiers  and 
police  of  the  nether  world,  and  the  sin  accumulated  by  the 
slaughter  of  animals.  Next  comes  the  Head  of  the  Board 
of  Punishments,  or  Ministry  of  Crimes,  whose  stern  face  and 
eyes  protruding  in  vengeful  glare  are  enough  to  make  even 
the  innocent  feel  guilty. 

The  Board  of  Punishments  has  charge  of  affairs  relating 
to  the  punishment  of  evil-doers,  to  epidemics,  to  malicious 
speech,  and  to  the  discrimination  and  reward  of  good  and 
evil.  Finally  we  reach  the  Board  of  Works,  represented  by 
a  calm-faced  individual,  with  his  two  secretaries.  He  records 
the  merit  arising  from  the  voluntary  mending  of  roads  and 
bridges,  the  providing  of  ferry  boats  and  public  lamps,  the 
upkeep  of  temples,  and  he  also  records  all  robberies  and 
burglaries. 

Following  him  comes  the  "  local  god,"  who  in  the  spirit 
world  is  what  his  counter-part,  the  tipac,  or  beadle,  is  in 
the  natural  world.  And  last  of  all  we  face  the  god  of  Dreams, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  bear  dreams  at  the  command  of  His 
Excellency  to  those  who  pray  for  them.  Through  a  dream 
a  man,  even  the  learned  Confucianist,  may  be  led  to  decision 
in  doubtful  cases  ;  and  if  the  dream  be  not  apparent  to  the 
intelligence  of  the  dreamer,  why,  here  is  another  fortune- 
teller, with  his  table  and  little  rolls,  who  will  no  doubt  be 
willing  to  interpret  it  for  a  mere  trifle  ;  for  idolatry  of  the 
ordinary  description  is  cheap,  cheap  as  sawdust,  and,  as 
spiritual  pabulum,  about  equally  healthy.  The  idolater's 
candles  are  cheap  ;  his  mock  silver  ingots  and  dollars  are 
cheap  ;  his  magnificent  set  of  furniture  and  boxes  of  clothing, 
all  burnt  and  sent  in  smoke  to  the  spirit  world  for  the  comfort 
of  his  deceased  relatives,  being  also  of  paper,  are  also  cheap, 
and  of  course  paper  turns  into  the  real  article  in  the  other 
world,  a  transmutation,  not  of  metals  but  of  paper,  that 
would  be  very  useful  for  this  world  if  the  gods  would  only 
lend  us  the  touchstone  for  a  day  or  two. 

This  prefectural  temple,  then,  gives  a  fair  idea  of  the  faith 
and  practice  of  the  Established  Church  of  China  in  its  popular 
form,  common  from  prefect  to  beggar.     Now  let  us,  by  a  visit 


TYPICAL   TEMPLES  217 

to  the  temple  of  the  great  sage  Confucius,  see  it  in  a  higher 
form,  at  least  in  one  of  its  more  select  forms  ;  for  only  the 
scholar  is  here  entitled  to  worship  the  Scholar's  Patron  Saint. 
To  see  the  Chinese  religion  in  its  very  highest  form  it  is 
necessary  to  go  to  Peking,  and  there  appreciate  the  meaning 
of  the  T'ien  dan,  or  Temple  of  Heaven,  where  the  emperor 
sacrifices  to  the  Majesty  on  High. 

Here  we  are  at  last,  at  the  great  County  Temple  to  Con- 
fucius. There  is  another  almost  as  large  five  minutes'  walk 
away,  belonging  to  the  city,  or  rather  parish,  for  each  of 
the  six  divisions  or  parishes  of  the  Wenchow  county  has  a 
temple  to  the  sage.  Moreover  just  as  each  parish  and  county 
has  its  own,  so  is  it  with  each  province,  and  there  is  in  Peking 
an  imperial  one  of  still  more  majestic  character,  with  plenitude 
of  marble  steps,  marble  balustrades,  and  marble  monuments. 
In  form,  however,  they  are  all  repUcas  of  each  other.  The 
great  boundary  wall  is  always  coloured  vermilion,  and  the 
roof,  as  in  the  case  of  all  temple  roofs,  is  liberally  decorated 
with  fantastic  figures,  useful  for  warding  off  evil  spirits, 
and  resembling  the  gargoyles  on  old  English  churches  ;  only 
there  are  more  of  them,  and  they  are  more  awe-inspiring. 

Entering  the  pavilion  gateway  we  find  ourselves  in  a  large 
courtyard.  What  are  these  on  the  left  ?  We  had  been  given 
to  understand  that  the  sect  of  the  Learned  had  no  idols  within 
the  precincts  of  the  temple  to  the  great  sage,  yet  here  at 
the  very  entrance  is  an  idol  representing  the  ubiquitous  local 
guardian,  or  parish  beadle,  who  holds  the  smaller  powers  of  the 
air  in  control ;  there  are  also  other  minor  deities  visible,  but 
let  us  pass  on  and  through  the  next  gateway. 

Behold  !  another  large  area,  with  •  corridors  down  each 
side,  and  a  broad  pathway  up  the  middle  leading  to  a  lofty 
hall.  We  foUow  the  path,  which  speedily  crosses  a  stone 
bridge  thrown  over  a  lakelet,  emblematic  of  the  student's 
passage  from  ignorance  to  wisdom,  a  sort  of  Confucian 
baptism,  only  they  avoid  the  water  by  passing  over  it. 
Ascending  the  stone  steps  at  the  end  of  the  path  we  stand 
in  the  broad  and  lofty  hall,  where  the  Literary  Chancellor, 
on  his  visit  from  the  provincial  capital  to  examine  candidates 
for  the  first  degree,  addresses  the  assembled  befrocked  and 
becrowned  literati.     Behind  the  hall  is  the  abode  of  the  Dean 


21 8  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

of  the  county  ;  hence  this  may  be  considered  as  the  Wenchow 
University  hall. 

To  our  right  are  some  steps.  Ascending  them  we  find 
a  number  of  small  shrines.  Here,  however,  are  no  idols, 
nothing  but  tablets  as  in  an  ancestral  temple ;  one  to  the 
great  Commentator  Chufutsz,  the  others  to  certain  departed 
Deans  of  the  University. 

Now  we  retrace  our  footsteps,  and  meeting  a  respectable- 
looking  man  who  has  charge  of  the  premises,  we  ask  permission 
to  visit  the  University  chapel.  He  leads  us  into  another 
courtyard  with  corridors  on  either  side,  and  again  a  lofty 
hall  faces  us  at  the  end.  Our  guide  tells  us  that  the  tablets 
in  the  shrines  along  the  corridors  are  to  the  seventy-two  dis- 
ciples of  Confucius.  We  reach  the  main  building  by  a  number 
of  steps,  and  stand  within  a  lofty,  handsomely  decorated 
hall.  It  is  just  past  noonday,  and  our  entry  disturbs  the 
quiet  of  the  spot.  It  also  disturbs  the  slumbers  of  a  score 
of  huge  bats,  which  flit  about  in  much  discomfort — theirs 
and  ours — and  which  with  their  mates  have  covered  the 
floor,  the  altar,  the  everything  with  a  rich  guano.  Now 
they  fly  from  our  presence,  squeaking  aloud  that  Confucius  is 
already  given  over  "  to  the  bats,"  and  we  are  inclined  to 
think  "  to  the  moles  "  as  well. 

There,  in  that  great  central  shrine,  stands  an  upright 
piece  of  carved  wood,  on  which  are  carved  the  words  :  The 
Spirit  Throne  of  the  Most  Sacred  Philosopher  and  Primus 
Magister  K'ung.  In  front  are  three  large  trestles,  stained 
with  the  coagulated  gore  of  the  ox,  the  goat  and  the  pig  which 
are  offered  each  spring  and  autumn,  and  over  there  are  the 
altars  whereon  other  offerings  are  made.  In  this  great  hall 
the  mandarins  and  many  of  the  literati,  clad  in  their  handsome 
silk  robes,  twice  a  year  prostrate  themselves  before  the 
"  Spirit  Throne,"  in  homage  to  the  soul  of  their  great  master. 

To  the  right  is  a  shrine  containing  tablets  to  his  favourite 
disciples  !  To  our  left  is  another  building  containing  tablets 
to  Mencius — the  Paul  of  Confucianism — and  to  others. 
Behind  is  still  another  temple  containing  tablets  to  the 
ancestors  of  the  sage,  to  whom  sacrifices  are  also  offered  at 
the  same  time  as  to  himself. 

No  image  of  Confucius  is  worshipped  in  the  Confucian 


TYPICAL   TEMPLES  219 

temples.  An  attempt  made  ages  ago  to  introduce  such  an 
image  in  addition  to  the  spirit  throne  was  energetically  resisted 
— some  say  because  he  was  such  a  very  ugly  man.  The 
nearest  approach  now  to  such  in  some  temples  is  a  stone 
tablet  engraved  with  a  relief  of  the  sage,  but  it  is  not  placed 
there  for  worship. 

Notice  in  the  courtyard  here,  amongst  the  uncut  straggling 
grass,  four  mounds  each  meant  to  contain  a  tree.  Like  the 
generality  of  Confucian  temples  this  court  wears  a  distinctly 
uncombed  appearance.  Let  us  ask  how  it  is  that  instead 
of  four  trees  there  is  only  one  —  that  scraggy  specimen  over 
there  to  the  left.  "  Oh  !  the  other  three  have  decayed 
and  not  been  replanted  "  is  the  reply.  Fit  emblem  of  the 
religion  of  the  sage,  three  parts  decayed,  and  in  the  vacant 
places  flourish  superstition,  ignorance  and  degradation. 
Nowadays  the  would-be  follower  of  Confucius  trusts  more 
for  entry  into  the  sacred  fold  of  the  Learned,  to  worship 
at  the  shrine  of  the  Star  of  Literature  than  at  that  of  the 
sage.  That  temple  now  treads  on  his  very  toes  ;  its  wall 
runs  into  his,  and  its  popularity  is  much  greater. 

Only  one  more  temple  is  necessary  to  a  fair  idea  of  the 
state  religion,  this  so-called  Confucianism,  and  a  visit  is 
hardly  requisite.  Nevertheless  it  represents  the  most  power- 
ful article  of  religion  in  the  land.  I  mean  the  ancestral  temple. 
There  are  many  in  the  city,  but  they  abound  in  much  greater 
proportion  in  the  rural  districts,  where  every  clan  has  its 
own.  There  is  little  to  see  :  a  large  haU  ;  a  long  table  for 
the  offerings  ;  a  wide  shrine  containing  tablets  of  carved 
wood,  each  inscribed  with  half  a  score  characters  indicating 
that  it  is  the  spirit  throne  of  the  deceased  progenitor  ;  several 
bowls  with  burnt-out  sticks  of  incense  standing  in  front ; 
sometimes  a  picture  of  the  ancestral  founder  and  his  wife 
behind  the  shrine.  That  is  aU,  but  it  represents  our  strongest 
opponent  in  China,  and  the  Christian  Church  may  yet  find 
a  right  way  of  making  a  friend  of  it  instead  of  a  foe,  for  Chris- 
tianity may  fairly  claim  filial  piety  as  "  with  us  "  and  not 
'  against  us." 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  a  temple  of  the  taoist  religion. 
It  is  in  a  secluded  street,  but  on  entering  we  discover  a  new- 
ness about  the  place  that  indicates  prosperity.     Everything 


220  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

is  clean  and  smart,  the  walls  are  newly  white-washed,  and 
the  very  gods,  wonder  of  wonders,  actually  look  tidy.  I  have 
never  been  in  this  temple  before,  indeed  have  never  heard 
of  it,  and  but  for  writing  this  chapter  should  still  have 
remained  ignorant  of  its  existence.  Nor,  indeed,  have  I 
ever  been  in  any  of  the  other  temples  we  are  inspecting,  for 
having  visited  elsewhere,  and  where  I  am_  not  so  well-known 
as  in  Wenchow,  some  of  the  finest  temples  in  China,  the 
local  temples  have  had  no  great  attraction.  For  who  can 
thread  the  mazes  of  idolatry  ?  And  what  need  is  there  to 
be  intimate  with  all  the  network  of  heathendom  in  order  to 
show  forth  that  Light  of  Life  which  will  enable  those  en- 
meshed in  superstition  to  escape  from  its  coils  ?  But  let 
us  see  what  this  place  has  to  reveal. 

Taoism  in  its  popular  form  maintains  its  existence  by  the 
credulity  of  the  people.  In  this  respect  it  differs  widely 
from  Confucianism  pure  and  simple.  The  three  religions 
indeed  may  be  said  to  be  mutually  complementary,  three 
segments  of  a  circle,  Confucius  standing  for  this  life,  for 
justice,  righteousness,  and  the  state  ;  Taoism  for  the  super- 
natural, for  research  into  the  forces  of  nature,  immortality, 
individualism  ;  and  Buddhism  for  compassion,  meditation, 
indifference  to  this  life  and  preparation  for  the  life  to  come. 

What  then  has  Taoism  to  show  us  ?  The  temple  we  are 
in  follows  the  usual  quadrangular  form  common  to  mansion, 
yamen,  temple  and  palace  throughout  China,  with  a  courtyard, 
or  series  of  courtyards  open  to  the  sky.  We  are  now  entering 
the  first  courtyard.  On  our  right  is  a  shrine  to  the  patron 
god  of  the  bean-curd  makers,  and  a  side  temple  containing 
amongst  many  others  the  Sixty  Cycle  gods,  the  most  curious 
of  which  is  one  exhibiting  a  long  arm  and  hand  protruding 
from  each  eye-socket,  with  an  eyeball  in  each  palm — useful 
for  looking  down  one's  back  !  On  our  left  is  another  to  the 
protector  of  life,  whoever  he  may  be. 

Coming  now  to  the  front  part  of  the  main  building  we  see 
facing  us  at  the  entrance  a  handsome  shrine,  in  which  stands 
a  gUded  figure  of  "  the  faithful  King  and  Philosopher."  He 
stands  in  full  panoply  of  war,  with  drawn  sword  and  martial 
mien,  daring  any  evil  to  intrude  within  the  precincts  of  the 
temple  of  "  Seeing  by  Reason."     On  his  left  Eire  two  shrines. 


TYPICAL    TEMPLES  221 

One  of  these  is  to  the  god  of  Thunder,  the  Chinese  Thor,  a 
white-headed  old  man,  with  a  spare  eye  standing  on  end 
in  the  middle  of  his  forehead.  Around  him  are  clustered 
his  four  assistants :  one  his  recorder ;  the  next  a  figure  with 
a  long  streak  of  lightning  stretched  around  him ;  the  third 
a  lady  with  cymbals  who  makes  the  thunder  roar ;  and  the 
fourth,  a  malevolent-looking  creature  with  a  mouth  like  a 
hawk's  bill,  a  hammer  in  one  hand,  and  a  spike  in  the  other, 
for  driving  a  fact  home  into  the  brain  of  an  offender.  Further 
on  is  a  shrine  to  the  god  of  Literature.  On  the  right  are 
two  more  shrines,  one  to  a  deified  personage  of  secondary 
importance,  yet  known  as  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  Azure 
Heavens,  and  the  other  to  the  god  of  War. 

Passing  through  the  inner  door  we  face  the  main  quad- 
rangle and  find  four  more  shrines,  two  in  the  east  corridor, 
and  two  in  the  west.  One  is  to  the  Chinese  Esculapius,  the 
founder  of  the  "  science  "  of  medicine,  another  is  to  one  of 
the  Immortals  or  Genii.  A  third  is  to  the  "  originator  of 
the  bamboo  tube,"  whatever  may  be  meant  by  that,  and  the 
fourth  is  to  "  the  dark  ladies  of  the  nine  heavens." 

Now  we  reach  the  great  hall,  with  its  shrine  to  the  Three 
Pure  Ones,  a  manifest  imitation  of  the  Buddhist  trinity,  just 
as  that  in  its  turn  was  copied  from  Brahminism.  Indeed 
Taoism  is  greatly  and  unfortunately  indebted  to  Buddhism 
for  its  present  form.  The  Three  Pure  Ones  are  by  some  said 
to  be  Lao-tsz  in  three  forms  of  manifestations  ;  by  others 
to  be  a  fanciful  trinity  adopted  from  the  Buddhists.  Below 
them  is  a  deified  person  known  as  the  Pearly  Emperor,  a 
very  popular  object  of  worship.  Below  again  are  the  Three 
Rulers,  one  ruling  the  upper  regions  whence  he  bestows 
blessings  ;  the  second  ruling  the  middle  or  earth  region,  and 
forgiving  sins  ;  the  third  ruling  the  lower  region,  and  saving 
from  danger. 

To  our  left  is  a  large  chapel,  wherein  dwells  the  "  Holy 
Mother,"  who  is  worshipped  for  the  gift  of  children.  Near 
to  her  is  another  female  deity,  who  protects  in  cases  of  small- 
pox, and  further  in  is  a  big  box-bed,  before  which  a  quaint 
old  couple  are  stiffly  seated,  who  guarantee  sleep  to  a  rest- 
less child.  Many  are  the  thank-offerings  scattered  about 
these  shrines ;   paper  boots,  paper  spectacles,  paper  clothes. 


222  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

paper  hats,  paper  playthings — all  expressive  of  gratitude 
for  petitions  answered. 

None  of  the  shrines  we  have  so  far  seen  appears  to  claim 
much  attention  from  the  few  worshippers  present,  who  are 
evidently  more  interested  in  something  going  on  beyond  that 
little  door  to  the  east.  Let  us  go  inside  and  see.  Here  we 
find  ourselves  in  a  chapel  dedicated  to  Lii  T'ung  Pin,  whose 
name  will  be  referred  to  in  a  later  chapter.  Suffice  it  now 
that  he  is  a  great  saint  of  the  Taoist  cult,  and  much  in  vogue 
hereabouts  for  his  advice,  especially  in  cases  of  illness.  You 
notice  how  crowded  the  chapel  is  with  tablets  and  votive 
offerings,  presented  by  those  whose  prayers  have  received 
satisfactory  answers. 

There  sits  a  monk,  the  only  one  we  have  seen  as  yet  in 
the  temple.  He  is  a  fat,  pleasant-looking  fellow,  and  his 
face  expresses  more  intelligence  than  would  the  combined 
faces  of  a  dozen  Buddhist  monks,  whose  chief  occupation 
is  to  look  down  their  noses.  Not  that  this  man's  occupation 
calls  for  much  brain  work,  for  as  you  see,  it  lies  almost  entirely 
in  receiving  the  bamboo  tallies  brought  by  the  worshippers, 
and  in  giving  slips  of  paper,  printed  with  the  answer  of  the 
oracle,  to  the  applicants,  who  pay  their  cash,  take  their  papers, 
and  depart. 

See  this  young  man  ;  he  has  just  offered  incense  and  candles, 
prostrated  himself  before  the  shrine,  and  slowly  shaken  out 
three  bamboo  tallies  from  the  bamboo  tube  in  which  they 
stand.  He  worships  again  and  shakes  out  three  more  sticks. 
The  two  sets  of  sticks,  every  one  of  which  is  numbered,  he 
brings  to  our  monk.  The  latter  bends  down  behind  his 
counter,  and,  with  rapidity  born  of  much  practice,  extracts 
from  his  drawer  the  slips  which  correspond  to  the  numbers, 
and  reads  them  to  the  worshipper.  This  youth,  as  it  happens, 
has  come  to  obtain  a  prescription  each  for  two  relatives. 
Though  the  prescriptions  contain  harmless  ingredients  the 
monk  warns  him  not  to  mix  the  two  cases,  not  to  give  John's 
medicine  to  Tom  !  We  have  read  that  there  are  Chinese 
quack  doctors  in  California  making  S5000  to  $10,000  a  year 
out  of  Americans.  Why  not  import  this  quack  method  and 
save  money  ? 

Another  man  approaches  with  his  sticks.     "  What  is  it 


TYPICAL  TEMPLES  2^3 

you  are  inquiring  about  ?  "  asks  the  monk.  "  So-and-so," 
says  the  man.  "  You've  shook  tallies  from  the  wrong  tube 
then.  Go  and  shake  again."  Two  women  are  now  telling 
the  god  in  tones  of  whispered  excitement  that  they  have  to 
leave  their  present  abode,  and  they  are  anxious  to  learn  if  a 
certain  date  is  a  lucky  one  for  removing.  One  of  them  says 
aloud  to  the  other,  "If  we  don't  get  a  lucky  answer  we'll 
go  and  join  the  Roman  Catholics,  and  then  we  can  defy 
them,"  i.e.  the  people  who  are  pressing  them  to  remove. 
The  tally  is  duly  shaken  out,  and  away  they  go  to  the  monk 
for  the  fateful  answer.  We  see  and  hear  this  and  more  as 
we  sit  here.  There  is  evidence  that  our  oracle  is  inquired 
of  on  many  and  varied  counts,  from  doses  of  medicine  down- 
wards. Indeed  "  inquire  within  on  everything  "  might  well 
be  the  text  over  the  door  of  the  shrine,  for  the  god  is  quite 
prepared  to  give  some  sort  of  answer,  however  Delphic  in 
character. 

Note  that  square  wooden  tray  filled  with  fine  smooth  sand, 
over  which  is  suspended  a  pen  the  like  of  which  you  have 
never  seen  before.  That  is  the  god's  writing-table.  Make 
your  offering,  ask  the  medium  to  lay  hold  of  one  handle  of 
the  pen,  and  take  hold  of  the  other  yourself,  and  see  what  the 
god  causes  you  to  write.  It  may  be  quite  illegible  to  you, 
but  the  medium  will  read  it.  Now  why  doubt  ?  Have  faith, 
the  faith  defined  by  the  little  boy  as  "  the  belief  in  that  which 
you  know  to  be  false,"  and  then  all  will  be  simple  enough, 
yourself  into  the  bargain. 

Let  us  end  our  morning's  visitation  by  seeing  what  the 
BUDDHIST  RELIGION  has  to  show  US.  Remember  we  could 
take  you  to  fifty  more  large  temples  within  the  radius  of  a 
mile,  all  varying  materially  from  those  already  seen,  for 
temples  and  idols  abound  everywhere ;  and,  as  already 
observed,  there  are  probably  as  many  idols  as  people  in  this 
land,  where  the  inhabitants  are,  in  the  words  of  the  prophet 
Jeremiah,  "  mad  upon  their  idols." 

We  enter  the  first  court.  All  is  deserted  and  quiet.  Be- 
fore us  stands  the  front  building  of  the  quadrangle,  and  in 
the  entrance  is  a  shrine.  What  a  fat,  jolly  old  god  sits  within 
the  glass  case,  his  face  rippling  and  his  sides  shaking  with 
laughter.     Who  is  he  ?     Surely  Buddhism  has  been  maligned  ! 


224  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

With  such  a  god  it  must  be  a  most  joyous  religion.  Far, 
far  from  it.  Originally  it  was  the  most  pessimistic  and 
hopeless  religion  the  world  has  known,  and  even  this  fat  old 
Buddha,  rightly  understood,  is  but  an  ever  present  witness 
of  its  pessimism.  This  is  the  Laughing  Buddha,  who  sitting 
cross-legged,  naked  to  the  waist,  looks  out  on  the  world  and 
laughs  and  laughs  and  laughs  day  and  night  without  ceasing 
— but  it  is  a  cynical  laugh  at  the  vanity  of  all  things  mundane, 
and  the  follies  of  mankind.  What  an  empty  world,  he  says, 
and  what  a  crassly  stupid  people  ! 

Back  to  back  with  him  is  the  image  of  Wei-to  (Veda),  the 
protector  of  monasteries,  who,  armed  to  the  teeth,  defies 
all  powers  of  evU.  Ranged  on  either  side  are  four  gigantic 
figures,  the  dragon  kings  who  guard  the  gate  of  the  temple, 
just  as  they  are  said  to  face  the  four  corners  of  the  Universe 
at  the  foot  of  Mount  Mem,  situated  in  the  midst  of  the  earth, 
whose  head  is  in  heaven  and  whose  feet  are  in  hell. 

Entering  the  main  hall  we  find  three  huge  gilded  figures 
of  Buddha,  each  sitting  tailor-fashion  on  an  enormous  carved 
lotus.  Here  are  two  sleepy-looking  old  priests  lazUy  enjoy- 
ing their  pleasant  idleness.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  extract 
any  reliable  information  out  of  priests,  as  they  themselves 
are  generally  quite  ignorant  of  the  names  of  their  objects 
of  worship.  Let  us  try  these  two  sleek  old  men  and  see  if 
they  know  what  these  figures  represent.  You  may  call 
them  what  you  like,  they  reply ;  you  may  call  the  middle 
one  Shakyamuni,  and  the  two  end  ones  the  two  Buddhas 
prior  to  Buddha  ;  or  you  may  caU  the  end  one  Kwan-yin, 
the  middle  one  Amitabha,  and  this  one  Maitreya ;  or  you 
may  describe  them  by  other  names  if  you  wish.  In  some 
places  they  are  known,  the  middle  one  cis  Shakyamuni,  and 
the  end  ones  as  Dharma  the  Law,  and  Samgha  the  Priest- 
hood. Sometimes  they  are  also  spoken  of  as  Buddha  that 
was,  Buddha  that  is,  and  Buddha  that  is  to  come.  Below 
them  is  a  female  image,  with  many  arms,  nominally  a  thou- 
sand, she  should  also  have  a  thousand  eyes,  but  there  is  not 
sufficient  room  on  her  to  bestow  so  large  a  number  of  hands 
and  eyes.  This  is  the  famous  goddess  of  mercy,  mentioned 
above  in  mascuUne  form  as  Kwan-yin,  for  Buddhist  deities 
are  by  no  means  limited  to  any  one  form  of  incarnation. 


TYPICAL  TEMPLES  225 

What  are  those  large  copper-coloured  figures  ranged  down 
either  side  of  the  hall  ?  They  are  the  images  of  the  eighteen 
Lohans  or  Arhats,  otherwise  the  first  Buddhist  apostles  to 
China,  who  came  to  the  borders  of  this  land  two  centuries 
B.C.  In  some  Buddhist  centres  there  are  large  temples 
filled  with  avenues  of  five  hundred  huge  representations  of 
these  and  other  Buddhist  missionaries.  Below  our  eighteen 
Lohans  is  a  long  line  of  images  in  Chinese  dress.  All  the 
gilded  idols  have  Hindoo  faces,  and  as  to  dress  it  is  chiefly 
noticeable  by  reason  of  its  scantiness.  But  these  figures 
are  Chinese,  and  over  their  heads  we  read  the  office  which 
each  holds  in  the  Buddhist  pantheon.  All  have  something 
to  do  in  the  nether  world,  as  arbiters  of  "  justice  "  to  the 
departed  Chinaman. 

There  is  nothing  more  of  interest  here,  but  we  have  seen 
enough  to  prove  that  the  would-be  godless  system  of  Budd- 
hism is  now  bursting  with  man-made  gods,  that  the  contem- 
plative life  has  become  a  prolonged  snore,  and  that  compassion 
for  the  suffering  has  ended  in  feeding  sacred  pigs  and  sacred 
fish,  also  in  swarms  of  fleas  and  theii  cousins. 

Let  us  now  go  and  look  at  hell, 

.    "  The  seat  of  desolation,  void  of  light, 

Save  what  the  glimmering  of  these  livid  flames 
Casts  pale  and  dreadful  I  " 

It  is  much  the  worse  for  wear  since  I  was  last  here,  mute 
token  that  whatever  may  be  the  case  with  an  immaterial 
hell,  a  material  one  is  by  no  means  endless.  Here  again 
is  the  usual  courtyard  with  its  two  corridors  and  the  great 
hall  at  the  end.  We  will  confine  our  attention  to  the  corridors 
with  their  ten  shrines,  five  on  each  side.  This  is  the  temple 
of  the  Ten  Judges,  before  whom  all  men  must  go  after  death 
to  receive  according  to  that  which  they  have  done  in  the 
flesh. 

Shrine  the  first  shows  the  bridge  over  which  the  souls  are 
being  led  to  confront  their  first  judge,  and  below  are  the 
tortures  which  it  faUs  to  his  lot  to  administer.  We  cannot 
spare  time  for  all  the  harrowing  detail,  either  of  this  or  the 
other  shrines,  nor  would  the  sensitive  reader  sleep  better 
for  such  detail — especially  were  his  conscience  troublesome. 
p 


226  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

Each  shrine  contains  the  huge  image  of  a  judge  seated  on 
high,  with  his  host  of  diminutive  assistants  below  carrying 
out  the  tortures  to  which  he  has  doomed  his  victims. 

See  the  poor  naked  victims  being  dragged  out  of  the  holes 
in  the  imitation  rocks  where  they  have  been  hiding  !  Ox- 
headed  lictors  drive  them  at  the  point  of  the  sword,  drag 
them  by  the  hair  of  the  head,  beat  them  along  with  clubs. 
Here  are  more  poor  wretches  with  woe-begone  faces,  still 
clothed,  but  being  violently  stripped  of  their  garments ; 
there  are  others  being  boUed  alive  ;  over  there  still  others 
being  sawn  asunder,  ground  to  slime  in  mills,  pounded  to 
a  jelly  in  mortars,  thrown  from  high  rocks  on  to  the  hill  of 
spears,  having  their  tongues  torn  out,  being  plunged  into 
the  lake  of  blood,  made  to  swallow  boiling  liquids,  tied  to 
red-hot  pillars — being  disembowelled — all  the  horrors  that 
the  compassionate  Buddhist  mind  can  invent,  and  the 
modeller  in  clay  can  fashion.  It  is  a  veritable  Chamber  of 
Horrors,  beside  which  the  Inquisition  was  feeble.  Let  us 
quit  this  gruesome  spot,  with  the  comforting  thought  that 
the  Chinese  also  leave  open  to  these  wretched  souls  a  way  of 
escape,  even  though  it  only  be  to  return  to  the  miseries  of 
the  world. 

A  visit  to  a  large  monastery  is  very  interesting,  provided 
the  monks  be  civil  as  they  usually  are  in  the  south.  The 
boom,  boom  of  the  large  bell,  the  drone,  drone  of  the  chants, 
the  slow  processions  before  the  great  shrine,  the  quiet  repose, 
all  have  their  attractions  for  the  weary  man.  Given  such 
a  monastery  amongst  the  glorious  scenery  of  the  mountains, 
and  such  superb  weather  as  may  at  times  be  had  here, 
repose  stretches  out  seductive  arms,  and  a  man  of  troubles 
and  sorrows  may  well  be  tempted  to  rest  himself  therein. 

Fifteen  years  ago  I  had  a  very  different  experience.  Under 
the  kindly  guidance  of  the  Rev.  Dr  Lowry,  I  was  visiting 
the  great  Lama  Temple  in  Peking.  Though  invited  by  one 
of  its  monks,  who  had  promised  us  a  friendly  reception  and 
a  view  of  the  giant  Buddha,  our  arrival  was  the  signal  for 
instant  attack.  We  were  set  upon  by  a  savage  crowd  of 
Lamas  armed  with  huge  Mongol  horsewhips,  which  they 
played  with  resounding  blows  about  our  ankles.  By  a  flank 
movement  —  indeed    several    of    them — we    succeeded    in 


TYPICAL  TEMPLES  227 

reaching  the  inner  door,  and  upon  payment  of  dollars  were 
allowed  an  entry.  The  premises  were  very  fine,  and  desirous 
of  photographing  one  of  the  central  buildings  I  innocently 
set  up  my  camera.  At  the  moment  all  was  perfectly  quiet, 
with  never  a  monk  in  sight,  but — we  only  recovered  my 
camera  after  a  severe  tussle  with  a  ruffianly  mob  which 
instantly  appeared,  in  the  course  of  which  our  fingers  were 
badly  scratched  and  the  camera  damaged.  Nor  did  we  see 
the  big  Buddha  after  all,  for  on  the  monk  who  had  invited 
us  bringing  the  key  to  open  the  door  of  the  shrine,  it  was 
immediately  snatched  from  his  hands.  We  decided  that  the 
outside  of  this  temple  was  healthier  than  the  inside,  and  were 
glad  to  escape,  if  not  with  a  whole  skin,  at  least  with  un- 
broken bones. 


XV 

THE    NATIVE    RELIGIONS:    THEIR 
FOUNDERS 

"  Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God  ?  " 

Half  a  millennium  before  Christ  our  world  witnessed  the 
glorious  springtide  of  the  human  intellect.  Then,  in  Eastern 
Europe,  Pythagoras,  Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle,  Anaxagoras, 
Zeno,  searching  in  the  created  for  the  Creator,  brought  forth  the 
fruit  of  their  virile  minds,  and  pressed  from  that  ripe  vintage 
inspiration  for  the  philosophy  of  all  succeeding  ages.  Even 
before  their  day,  in  Western  Asia,  Isaiah  in  yet  nobler  strain 
had  sung  with  no  uncertain  note  of  Him  "  that  sitteth  upon 
the  circle  of  the  earth,  that  stretcheth  out  the  heavens  as  a 
curtain,  and  spreadeth  them  out  as  a  tent  to  dwell  in,"  and 
the  heart  of  those  who  hearken  to  his  music  still  throbs  with 
his  in  joyous  adoration. 

Nor  was  the  Far  Orient  left  uninspired,  for  over  its  towering 
peaks  three  brilliant  planets  arose,  heralding  the  advent  of  the 
dayspring  from  on  high.  Less  luminous  than  the  Greek 
philosopher,  and  pale  as  dim  candles  in  the  transcendent 
glow  of  the  Hebrew  prophet,  these  three  great  lights  of  Eastern 
Asia  have,  nevertheless,  influenced  a  mass  of  human  beings 
vastly  outnumbering  the  peoples  stirred  by  the  Greek,  in- 
spired by  the  Hebrew,  or  as  yet  illumined  even  by  the  Son 
of  Man  Himself. 

Buddha,  Confucius,  and  Lao-tsz  :  a  trinity  of  noble  names  ! 
Buddha  the  Ascetic,  Lao-tsz  the  Mystic,  and  Confucius  the 
Moralist — three  great  luminaries  that  have  shone  upon  this 
mighty  race,  through  two  thousand  years  of  sunless  history. 
From  these  has  been  derived  almost  the  only  radiance  that. 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— THEIR  FOUNDERS    229 

for  countless  myriads  of  the  Mongolian  peoples,  has  Ughtened 
the  rugged  pathway  of  daily  life,  and  the  via  dolorosa  of 
approaching  death  ;  and  the  reflection  thereof  has  even 
glimmered  into  the  dank  darkness  of  the  dismal  tomb, 
revealing  beyond  its  dreariness  the  dim  perspective  of  a 
something  good  and  lasting,  of  hue  fcir  different  from  the 
pale  cast  of  ghostly  death. 

Of  the  three  schools  founded  by  these  worthies  two  only 
are  Chinese,  for  Buddhism  is  no  more  indigenous  to  this 
land  than  is  Christianity.  It  may  be  well  therefore,  before 
dealing  with  Buddhism  and  other  imported  religions,  to 
first  treat  of  the  two  cults  which  are  native  to  the  country. 
So  great,  however,  has  been  the  influence  of  foreign  importa- 
tions that,  in  order  to  learn  what  are  the  ideas  of  the  Chinese 
themselves,  we  must  go  back  to  the  sixth  century  before 
Christ. 

Even  then  it  is  impossible  to  say  that  we  find  a  purely 
native  religion,  for  the  Chinese,  throughout  their  history, 
have  always  had  a  measure  of  communication  with  the  out- 
side world.  Neither  let  it  be  thought  that  the  two  sages, 
Lao-tsz  and  Confucius,  originated  the  cults  known  by  their 
names.  Confucius  correctly  describes  himself  as  "  a  trans- 
mitter and  not  a  creator,  believing  in  and  loving  the  ancients," 
and  Lao-tsz  was  only  one  of  many  contemporary  mystics  and 
recluses.  The  Chinese  religion  already  existed,  had  indeed 
existed  from  ages  beyond  the  records  of  history.  These  two 
men  took  hold  of  it,  Confucius  by  its  right  hand,  and  Lao-tsz 
by  its  left ;  the  one  according  to  his  practical  nature,  by  its 
work-a-day  hmb,  the  other  by  its  less  obtrusive  fellow. 

The  ancient  religion,  so  far  as  we  have  any  record,  seems 
to  have  consisted  of  the  worship  of  a  supreme  being,  of 
ancestors,  and  of  the  spirits  presiding  over  the  forces  of 
nature.  But  when  a  people  who  have  apprehended  God, 
however  dimly,  add  thereunto  the  worship  of  any  other 
spirit  or  object,  no  limit  can  be  set  to  its  succeeding  degrada- 
tion, as  the  superstitions  of  the  Hindus  and  Chinese,  and  even 
of  Latin  and  Greek  Christianity  bear  ample  testimony. 
Hence,  by  the  time  Confucius  was  bom,  religion  had  already 
become  grossly  adulterated.  Copious  records,  however,  ex- 
isted— historical,    ceremonial,    divinatory,    poetic — and    the 


230  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

task  this  great  reformer  set  for  himself  was  to  edit  these 
records,  and  to  restore  the  primitive  rehgion. 

He  appears  to  have  found  in  his  day,  as  well  as  amongst 
the  material  at  hand,  an  extravagant  belief  in  the  supernatural, 
in  signs  and  wonders,  in  apparitions,  in  the  calling  down  of 
spirits,  in  magical  performances,  and  in  a  whole  phantas- 
magoria of  wild  crudities.  With  a  mind  bent  on  the  practical, 
these  supernatural  and  spiritualistic  elements  had  no  attrac- 
tion for  him,  and  he  made  the  objective  of  his  writings  and 
teachings  the  government  of  men  by  a  law  of  righteousness 
and  ceremonial,  of  which  the  ruler  of  the  state  was  to  be 
the  chief  concrete  exponent. 

The  importance  of  worship,  and  of  human  responsibility 
to  the  powers  above,  he  fully  recognised ;  hence  the  gods 
to  whom  sacrifices  should  be  offered,  by  prince  and  plebeian, 
were  carefully  defined,  according  to  the  ancient  tenets.  He 
never  had  the  good  fortune  to  meet  a  prince  willing  to  put 
himself  to  the  trouble  of  giving  his  theories  a  fair  trial.  Con- 
sequently, when  advanced  in  years,  and  disappointed  by 
neglect  and  apparent  failure,  he  declared  that,  could  his 
life  have  been  prolonged,  he  would  have  applied  himself 
wholly  to  the  study  of  the  philosophy  of  nature,  as  exhibited 
in  "  the  Book  of  Changes."  This  book  is  the  ancient  and 
incomprehensible  Chinese  Principia  of  Natural  Law,  which 
has  been  used  for  three  thousand  years,  for  the  most  part  as 
a  book  of  divination.  Dr  Faber  tells  us  that  here  the  mind 
of  Confucius  comes  into  touch  with  that  of  Lao-tsz.  This 
book  may  be  their  common  bond,  though  the  Tao  teh  ching 
shows  little  trace  of  its  influence. 

Lao,  unlike  Confucius,  was  a  visionary,  a  mystic,  a  searcher. 
His  desire  was  to  know  the  Tao,  or  ultimate  law  that  ran 
through  all  nature,  controlling  the  world,  seen  and  unseen. 
To  this  study  he  applied  his  life,  but,  again  unlike  Confucius, 
the  only  book  he  left  to  the  world — a  book  written  when 
over  eighty  years  of  age  as  he  withdrew  himself  from  the 
society  of  man — was  a  brief,  unsatisfactory  treatise  on  the 
greatness  and  mysteriousness  of  Tao,  this  inscrutable  law, 
which,  after  a  life-time  of  research,  he  had  failed  to  apprehend. 
Better,  however,  to  scale  the  mountain  of  truth,  if  only  to 
be  enveloped  in  its  clouds,  than  for  ever  to  cling  to  the  dull, 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— THEIR  FOUNDERS    231 

prosaic  plains  beneath  ;  and,  in  the  clouds,  Lao  more  nearly 
touched  the  hem  of  the  divine  robe  than  ever  did  Confucius 
in  the  plains  below. 

In  these  two  men,  K'ung  (Confucius)  and  Lao,  we  have, 
then,  leaders  of  very  different  moulds  ;  the  first,  a  moral 
and  political  philosopher,  ceremonially  and  sincerely  religious  ; 
the  other,  a  religious  and  natural  philosopher,  whose  vision 
saw  beyond  ceremonies,  and  whose  view  of  the  hidden  glory 
made  his  selfless  moral  teaching  disesteem  the  vanity  and 
egoism  of  mankind.  The  robe  of  Confucius,  the  seer  of  the 
tangible  and  matter-of-fact,  has  fallen  on  his  disciples ;  and 
the  mantle  of  Lao,  the  philosopher  of  the  unseen  world,  is 
being  worn  by  his  followers  :  but  both  are  sadly  soiled  and 
woefully  bedraggled. 

These  two  cults  owe  much,  though  in  different  directions, 
to  two  men  who  followed.  On  the  one  hand,  that  of  Confucius 
is  greatly  indebted  to  Mencius,  who,  upwards  of  a  century 
after  the  "  Master's "  death,  materially  strengthened  its 
position.  His  analects  now  form  one  of  the  "  Four  Books  " 
of  the  Confucian  canon.  On  the  other  hand  the  Laofucian, 
or  Taoist  cult,  is  to  be  condoled  with  on  the  advent,  five 
centuries  after  the  withdrawal  of  Lao-tsz  from  the  world, 
of  Chang  Tao  Ling.  He  introduced  not  into  China,  where 
the  ideas  already  existed,  but  into  the  Taoist  cult,  a  search 
after  immortality  amongst  drugs  and  potions,  the  pursuit 
of  a  talisman  for  transmuting  the  baser  metals,  and  a  sword 
and  charms  for  expelling  evil  spirits ;  the  sword  and  charms, 
we  are  told,  on  the  authority  of  an  emperor  of  the  present 
dynasty,  "  remain  in  his  (Chang's)  family  to  this  day."  More- 
over, whilst  the  head  of  the  K'ung  family  is,  by  imperial 
appointment,  a  duke,  remaining  in  perpetual  charge  of  the 
Confucian  mausoleum,  with  its  appanage  and  privileges, 
the  head  of  the  Chang  family  is  also  by  imperial  appointment 
a  pope  of  the  Taoist  order,  and,  as  such,  by  far  the  more  power- 
ful of  the  two.  He  it  is  who  to-day,  with  imperial  assent,  yet 
practically  at  his  own  will  and  pleasure,  moves  the  state 
divinities  about  from  pillar  to  post,  including  those  of  his 
rivals  the  Confucians  ! 

Confucius  and  Lao  were  contemporaries,  Lao  being  fifty 
vears  the  senior.     We  have  onlj'  a  record  of  their  meeting 


232  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

once,  on  which  occasion  Lao-tsz,  then  over  eighty  years  of 
age,  took  upon  himself  to  administer  a  philosophic  pill  to 
his  younger  visitor.  "  Put  away,"  he  said,  "  your  proud 
air  and  many  desires,  your  insinuating  habit  and  wild  will. 
They  are  of  no  advantage  to  you."  On  Confucius,  despite 
this  seeming  asperity,  perhaps  indeed  because  of  it,  he 
evidently  produced  a  profound  impression,  but  whether  of 
admiration  or  perplexity  is  not  clear.  Speaking  of  Lao,  he 
afterwards  said,  "  I  know  how  birds  can  fly,  how  fishes  swim, 
and  how  animals  can  run.  But  the  runner  may  be  snared, 
the  swimmer  may  be  hooked,  and  the  flier  may  be  shot  by 
the  arrow.  But  there  is  the  dragon.  I  cannot  tell  how  he 
mounts  on  the  wind  through  the  clouds,  and  rises  to  heaven. 
To-day  I  have  seen  Lao-tsz,  and  can  only  compare  him  to 
the  dragon." 

Both  men  were  Government  officers,  Lao  being  in  the 
Imperial  Capital,  in  the  office  of  Archives  and  Astrology, 
his  rival  holding  a  post  in  Shantung,  under  the  Duke  of  Lu. 
Both  were  deeply  impressed  with  the  license  and  disorganisa- 
tion of  their  times,  and  zealous  for  their  country's  welfare. 
Lao,  in  despair,  and  feeling  the  weight  of  years,  finally  gave 
up  the  attempt  to  improve  matters,  and  withdrew  from  the 
world.  Confucius,  being  younger  and  more  hopeful,  remained 
amongst  his  fellows,  and  sought,  though  vainly,  to  influence 
the  rulers  of  his  day  to  adopt  his  principles  of  life  and  govern- 
ment. 

At  that  time,  though  there  was  a  nominal  emperor,  or  Son 
of  Heaven,  the  country  was  divided  into  a  host  of  petty 
states,  in  frequent  strife  one  with  another,  much  as  was  the 
case  in  our  own  feudal  period.  It  still  lacked  nearly  three 
centuries  to  the  days  of  the  imperious  and  eternally  hated 
Shih  Huang-ti,  who  during  the  third  century  B.C.,  in  the 
blood  of  untold  millions  of  his  subjects,  put  down  these 
kings  or  barons,  and  united  their  numerous  states  into  one 
vast  empire,  an  empire  which,  despite  many  changes  of 
dynasty,  continues  to  the  present  day. 

During  the  period  that  intervened  between  the  death  of 
Confucius  and  the  advent  of  this  Napoleon  of  China,  the 
sage's  disciples  had  planted  deep  the  roots  of  their  master's 
teaching,  so  that  notwithstanding  the  adoption  by  Shih  of 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— THEIR  FOUNDERS    233 

the  already  degenerated  Taoist  system,  the  slaughter  of  the 
sage's  followers,  and  the  destruction  of  all  the  Confucius 
records  he  could  find,  yet  even  Shih  Huang-ti  was  unable 
to  uproot  the  cult  he  opposed.  From  the  death  of  Shih 
untU  now,  though  there  have  been  crowned  emperors  to  the 
number  of  nearly  three  hundred,  Confucius  has  ever  remained 
the  uncrowned  King  of  China,  and  such  he  is  likely  to  remain 
till  the  King  with  the  Crown  of  Thorns  raises  this  people  to 
adore  at  a  nobler  shrine. 

Of  Lao-tsz,  the  Venerable  Philosopher,  or,  as  some  say. 
Philosopher  Old,  and  as  others,  with  hteral  authority,  the 
"  Old  Boy,"  httle  is  known.  His  clan  name  was  Li,  "  Plum," 
and  his  personal  name  was  Ur,  "  Ear,"  a  cognomen,  as  his 
posthumous  name  of  Tan,  or  "  Flat  Ear  "  implies,  probably 
arising  from  something  unusual  in  the  size  or  shape  of  that 
organ  ;  hence  the  name  Li  Ur  may  be  taken  to  mean  "  Plum 
the  Eared."  Modem  Taoists  say  that  his  mother  carried 
him  eighty  years  in  her  womb,  and  that  he  was  born  with 
white  hair  and  a  wrinkled  face,  a  boy  of  eighty  !  The  white 
hair  and  wrinkled  face  are  commonly  shown  in  the  images 
we  find  of  him  in  the  various  Taoist  temples.  When  he 
withdrew  from  the  world,  possibly  to  join  other  anchorites 
amongst  the  mountains,  he  was  asked  at  the  frontier  of 
Hankuh  to  write  and  leave  behind  him  a  treatise  for  the 
guidance  of  his  followers.  This  is  the  sole  authentic  relic 
in  existence  of  one  whom  his  disciples  have  canonised  as 
the  principal  god  or  "  saint "  in  their  trinity. 

Concerning  Confucius  we  have  more  abundant  material. 
The  name  thus  spelt  is  the  form,  as  latinised  by  the  early 
Cathohc  missionaries,  of  the  Chinese  title  K'ung  Fu-tsz, 
the  philosopher  K'ung,  or  "  Hole."  His  personal  name  was 
Ch'iu,  a  mound,  so  given  in  consequence  of  a  protuberance 
on  his  forehead.  Though  of  royal  descent  he  was  born  in 
only  moderate  circumstances  in  the  northern  kingdom  of 
Lu,  the  modem  Shantung.  His  father  was  a  mihtary  ofl&cer 
"  of  great  prowess  and  daring  bravery,"  who  having  nine 
daughters  by  his  first  wife,  but  never  a  son,  married  when 
over  seventy  a  young  woman  who  became  the  mother  of  the 
sage.  When  three  years  old  his  father  died.  At  nuieteen 
he  himself  married  and  had  a  son.     About  the  same  time 


234  ^  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

he  found  employment  as  controller  of  a  state  granary,  and 
some  years  later  became  noticeable  as  a  philosopher,  to 
whom  a  number  of  young  men  had  attached  themselves. 

While  diligent  in  the  performance  of  his  public  duties, 
he  found  time  to  adopt  and  prosecute  his  great  life  task  of 
collecting  and  editing  the  ancient  records,  historical,  religious, 
poetic,  and  philosophic ;  and  of  inculcating  the  principles 
he  evolved  therefrom  into  his  disciples.  On  returning  from 
a  visit  to  the  Imperial  Capital,  where  he  had  his  famous 
interview  with  Lao-tsz,  he  was  appointed  Chief  Magistrate 
of  Chuntu,  and  so  effectively  did  he  administer  his  duties 
there  that  the  Duke  of  Lu  raised  him  to  the  high  office  of 
Minister  of  Justice,  when  he  "  became  the  idol  of  the  people 
and  flew  in  songs  through  their  mouths." 

For  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  his  doctrines  would  win  immediate 
success,  but  the  increased  prestige  accruing  to  the  duke  in 
consequence  of  the  successful  government  of  Confucius, 
prompted  a  jealous  neighbouring  ruler  to  divert  the  duke's 
attention,  and  spoil  the  work  of  the  sage.  He  sent  the  duke 
a  present  of  eighty  attractive  girls,  whose  charms  and  graces 
and  beautiful  faces  easily  prevailed  over  the  prosaic  prin- 
ciples of  the  philosopher ;  and  he,  finding  his  counsels  dis- 
regarded, reluctantly  withdrew  from  the  court.  He  had 
now  reached  his  fifty-sixth  year,  yet  bravely  he  went  forth 
with  a  handful  of  disciples,  wandering  from  state  to  state, 
and  from  ducal  court  to  ducal  court,  in  the  hope  of  finding 
somewhere  a  prince  willing  to  put  his  rules  of  government 
into  practice.  These  rules  may  in  brief  be  summed  up  in 
his  own  words  : — 

"  From  the  Son  of  Heaven  down  to  the  masses,  there  is 
one  law,  that  each  must  consider  personal  cultivation  as  of 
radical  importance." 

"  When  the  ruler,  as  a  father,  a  son,  and  a  brother,  is  a 
model,  then  the  people  imitate  him,"  hence,  "  the  govern- 
ment of  his  kingdom  depends  on  the  regulation  of  his  family." 

"  In  a  state,  not  gain,  but  righteousness  is  to  be  considered 
prosperity." 

"  The  administration  of  government  lies  in  getting  proper 
men.  Such  men  are  to  be  got  by  means  of  the  ruler's  own 
character.     That  character  is  to  be  cultivated  by  his  tread- 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— THEIR  FOUNDERS    235 

ing  in  the  ways  of  duty.  And  the  treading  those  ways  of 
duty  is  to  be  cultivated  by  the  cherishing  of  consideration 
for  others." 

"  The  sovereign  may  not  neglect  the  cultivation  of  his 
own  character.  Wishing  to  cultivate  his  character  he  may 
not  neglect  to  serve  his  parents.  In  order  to  serve  his 
parents  he  may  not  neglect  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  men. 
In  order  to  know  men  he  may  not  dispense  with  a  know- 
ledge of  heaven." 

"  The  duties  of  universal  obligation  are  five,  and  the 
virtues  with  which  they  are  practised  are  three.  The  duties 
are  those  between  sovereign  and  minister,  father  and  son, 
husband  and  wife,  elder  and  younger  brother,  and  friend 
with  friend.  Knowledge,  magnanimity,  courage  (or  bold- 
ness), these  three  are  the  virtues  universally  binding." 

"  He  who  knows  these  three  things  knows  how  to  cultivate 
his  own  character.  Knowing  how  to  cultivate  his  own 
character,  he  knows  how  to  govern  other  men.  Knowing 
how  to  govern  other  men,  he  knows  how  to  govern  the  empire 
with  all  its  states  and  families." 

"  All  who  have  the  government  of  the  empire,  with  its 
states  and  families,  have  nine  standard  rules  to  follow — 
viz.,  the  cultivation  of  their  own  characters  ;  the  honouring 
of  men  of  virtue  and  talents ;  affection  towards  their  own 
relatives  (or  parents)  ;  respect  towards  the  great  ministers  ; 
kind  and  considerate  treatment  of  the  whole  body  of  officers  ; 
dealing  with  the  mass  of  the  people  as  children  (in  fatherly 
fashion)  ;  encouraging  the  resort  of  all  classes  of  artisans  ; 
indulgent  treatment  of  men  from  a  distance  ;  and  the  kindly 
cherishing  of  the  princes  of  the  states." 

"  Self -adjustment  and  purification,  with  careful  regula- 
tion of  his  dress,  and  the  not  making  a  movement  contrary 
to  the  rules  of  propriety  —  this  is  the  way  for  the  ruler  to 
cultivate  his  person.  Discarding  slanders,  and  keeping  him- 
self from  the  seductions  of  beauty ;  making  light  of  riches, 
and  giving  honour  to  virtue  ; — this  is  the  way  for  him  to  en- 
courage men  of  worth  and  talents.  Giving  them  places  of 
honour  and  large  emolument,  and  sharing  with  them  in 
their  likes  and  dislikes  —  this  is  the  way  to  encourage  his 
relatives  to  love  him.     Giving  them  numerous  officers  to 


236  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

discharge  their  orders  and  commissions — this  is  the  way  for 
him  to  encourage  the  great  ministers.  According  to  them 
a  generous  confidence  and  making  their  emoluments  large — 
this  is  the  way  to  encourage  the  body  of  officers.  Employ- 
ing them  only  at  the  proper  times,  and  making  the  imposts 
light — this  is  the  way  to  encourage  the  people.  By  daily 
examinations  and  monthly  trials,  and  by  making  their  rations 
accord  with  their  labours — this  is  the  way  to  encourage  the 
classes  of  artisans.  To  escort  them  on  their  departure  and 
meet  them  coming,  to  commend  the  good  among  them,  and 
show  compassion  to  the  incompetent — this  is  the  way  to 
treat  indulgently  men  from  a  distance,"  etc. 

Confucius  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-two,  without  having 
met  the  prince  who  was  prepared  to  follow  his  teaching,  and 
without  having  seen  his  principles  accepted  by  his  fellow- 
countrymen.  There  is  something  pathetic  in  the  thought 
of  this  fine,  upright,  albeit  somewhat  pedantic  old  man,  who 
had  toiled  and  wandered  through  weary  years — his  life  at 
times  in  danger — only  to  meet  disappointment  in  the  end. 
Could  he  have  foreseen  the  way  in  which  succeeding  genera- 
tions have  exalted  himself  rather  than  his  principles,  it  is  pro- 
bable that  his  disappointment  would  have  been  even  greater. 
Suffice  it  that,  in  so  far  as  it  was  revealed  to  him,  he  nobly 
did  his  duty  to  his  generation.  After  death  he  was  buried 
in  his  native  province  of  Shantung,  near  to  the  great  Tai 
Mountain,  where  his  grave  remains  to  this  day ;  and  is,  as 
has  been  already  stated,  under  the  conserving  care  of  his 
descendant,  Duke  K'ung,  whose  three-thousand-year  old 
genealogical  tree  is  probably  the  most  ancient  and  most 
complete  on  earth.  Unlike  Lao-tze — the  date  and  place  of 
whose  death  is  unknown — he  left  behind  him  in  his  Penta- 
teuch enough  to  make  him  famous  through  all  time,  and 
his  disciples  added  to  his  well-earned  fame  in  the  "  Four 
Books "  composed  by  them  after  his  death,  wherein  his 
teaching  is  summarised  and  supplemented. 

It  may  be  said,  then,  that  the  native  religion  of  China 
had  existed  for  ages  before  the  advent  of  Confucius  and 
Lao-tze  ;  that  its  chief  exponent  and  reformer  was  Confucius, 
the  "  transmitter  and  not  creator  "  ;  and  that  Lao-tze  was 
the  unintentional  founder  of  a  school  of  mystics  and  spiritual- 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— THEIR  FOUNDERS    237 

ists,  who  have  cultivated  and  added  to  the  ancient  supersti- 
tions, and  whose  extravagances  have  resulted  in  Taoism  being 
classified,  by  the  present  dynasty,  under  the  list  of  heretical 
sects. 

The  disciples  of  both  schools  all  follow  the  state  religion, 
the  Confucianists,  in  addition,  officially  sacrificing  to  the 
sage,  even  as  the  Taoists  unofficially  pay  their  highest  honours 
to  Lao-tze,  and  to  a  host  of  their  own  particular  divinities. 
If,  therefore,  the  state  or  orthodox  religion  of  China  be 
called,  as  it  generally  is,  Confucianism,  then  all  Taoists  are 
in  a  sense  Confucianist  also,  for  they  worship  the  orthodox 
deities  in  addition  to  their  own.  It  should  however  be  noted 
that  Confucianists  are  by  no  means  all  Taoists.  The  situa- 
tion somewhat  resembles  that  of  Methodism  a  century  and  a 
half  ago,  when  all  Methodists  were  members  of  the  Church 
of  England,  for  all  communicated  there,  but  all  Church  of 
England  people  were  by  no  means  Methodists.  In  like 
manner,  while  the  Buddhists  may  be  Confucianists  and 
Taoists  at  one  and  the  same  time,  Confucianists  and  Taoists 
are  very  far  from  being  all  followers  of  Buddha.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  Confucianism  is  not  a  Chinese  term  at  all ;  it  is  of 
European  invention,  and  strictly  speaking  should  be  limited 
to  the  "  School  of  the  Learned  " — the  Ju  Chiao ;  for  con- 
venience' sake  it  is  applied  by  Europeans  to  the  first  of  the 
three  native  cults  (Ju,  Shih  and  Tao),  to  indicate  the  state 
religion.  The  two  latter,  Buddhists  and  Taoists,  are  "  Dis- 
senters "  in  China,  just  as  are  also  Mohammedans  and 
Christians. 


XVI 

THE  NATIVE  RELIGIONS: 
CONFUCIANISM 

•  The  unknown  God." 

Having  in  the  previous  chapter  given  some  account  of  the 
two  great  Chinese  leaders,  while  reserving  Taoism  for  a 
separate  chapter,  let  us  now  consider  what  is  the  state 
religion  of  China,  commonly  called  Confucianism. 

It  is  with  modern  Confucianism  that  we  have  to  deal, 
which,  while  not  greatly  differing  in  its  principles  from  the 
Master's  teaching,  varies  in  detail  very  widely  from  its  ancient 
form.  Just  as  in  Roman  Christianity  there  exists  much 
that  is  foreign  to  the  New  Testament,  so  is  it  with  Con- 
fucianism, in  which  the  accretions  have  been  both  many 
and  great.  But,  even  as  Romanism  cannot  fairly  be  treated 
without  a  study  of  the  early  records  of  Christianity,  neither 
can  Confucianism  .  be  dealt  with  apart  from  its  ancient 
creed. 

First,  then,  from  the  earliest  times  Confucianism  has  re- 
cognised the  existence  of  a  supreme  being,  who  is  called 
Shen,  or  Ti,  or  more  usually  Shang  Ti,  the  Above  Ruler  or 
Over  King.  He  is  also  often  indicated  by  the  impersonal 
T'ien,  Heaven.  Shang  Ti,  or  T'ien  may  only  be  sacrificed 
to  by  the  emperor,  the  Son  of  Heaven,  for  not  until  the  advent 
of  the  Divine  Son  of  Man  is  it  possible  for  men  in  truth  to 
realise  that  they  too  are  the  sons  of  heaven,  with  equal  rights 
before  the  majesty  on  high. 

Every  year  at  the  winter  solstice,  seated  "  in  his  state 
car,  and  escorted  by  about  two  thousand  grandees,  princes, 
musicians  and  attendants,"  the  emperor  makes  a  solemn 
238 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— CONFUCIANISM  239 

procession  from  his  palace  to  the  Imperial  Temple  of  Heaven. 
There,  at  midnight,  after  three  nominal  days  of  fasting  and 
prayer,  he  ascends  the  majestic  three-tiered  circular  altar 
of  white  marble,  which  stands  under  the  azure  heavens  in 
the  centre  of  its  immense  park.  Before  the  tablet  of  Shang 
Ti  he  bows  in  worship,  and  in  addition  to  oblations  of  silk, 
grain,  jade,  sheep,  pigs,  and  other  small  animals,  he  offers 
up  "  a  burnt  offering  of  a  whole  bullock — entire  and  without 
blemish."  The  spirit  tablet  of  Shang  Ti,  a  strip  of  wood 
with  the  great  name  inscribed  on  it,  is  placed  at  one  end  of 
the  altar,  and  down  each  side  are  ranged  the  spirit  tablets 
of  the  imperial  ancestors,  who  are  thereby  invited  to  be 
present  and  bear  the  Almighty  Guest  company  at  this  royal 
banquet. 

Idolatry  is  conspicuously  absent  from  the  imperial  sacrifice, 
whether  at  the  round  altar  to  heaven,  or  at  the  square  altar 
to  earth,  which  is  situated  in  a  park  co-extensive  with 
that  of  the  altar  to  heaven,  and  separated  from  it  by  the 
majestic  carriage  way  which  lies  between  the  two  temples. 
Indeed,  the  making  of  idols  seems  to  have  been  unknown  in 
China  until  the  advent  of  Buddhism.  As  already  shown, 
to  this  day  no  image  of  Confucius  is  worshipped  in  the  sage's 
temples ;  the  tablet  or  "  spirit  throne,"  like  the  cross  in  a 
ritualistic  church,  being  the  only  visible  object  before  which 
sacrifice  is  offered. 

Nevertheless  the  imperial  worship  is  by  no  means  mono- 
theistic, for,  in  addition  to  the  worship  of  heaven  and  earth, 
a  host  of  other  divinities  is  also  annually  worshipped.  The 
emperor,  either  in  person  or  by  proxy,  regularly  offers 
sacrifices  in  their  various  temples  to  the  spirits  of  the  hills 
and  the  rivers  ;  to  the  spirits  controlling  such  elements  as 
rain  and  snow,  fire  and  thunder  ;  to  the  sun,  moon  and  certain 
stars  ;  to  his  own  lares  and  penates  ;  and,  of  course,  to  his 
ancestors ;  to  Confucius  also,  and  certain  national  heroes 
who  have  been  canonised ;  to  the  principal  Taoist  and 
Buddhist  divinities,  and  to  as  many  more  as  circumstances 
render  advisable ;  for  it  is  always  well  for  even  the  emperor 
to  please  everybody,  if  he  can,  and  especially  to  keep  on 
good  terms  with  all  the  "  powers  of  the  air."  If  only  Chris- 
tians were  not  so  unreasonable,  and  would  apply  for  the 


240  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

admission  of  Jesus  Christ  into  the  imperial  pantheon,  probably 
no  objection  would  be  raised  to  the  addition  ! 

The  orthodox  objects  of  worship  in  the  ancient  religion 
of  China  may  be  briefly  described  in  the  words  of  Confucius' 
"  Record  of  Rites,"  translated  by  Dr  Legge  as  follows  : — 

"  The  Son  of  Heaven  sacrificed  to  heaven  and  earth ; 
to  (the  rulers  of)  the  four  quarters,  to  the  (spirits  of  all  the) 
hills  and  rivers  ;  and  offered  the  five  (domestic)  sacrifices ; 
— all  in  the  course  of  the  year. 

"  The  feudal  princes  sacrificed  to  (the  rulers  of)  their 
several  quarters ;  to  the  (spirits  of  their)  hills  and  rivers  ; 
and  offered  the  five  (domestic)  sacrifices ; — all  in  the  course 
of  the  year, 

"  Great  ofiicers  offered  the  five  (domestic)  sacrifices ; — 
all  in  the  course  of  the  year. 

"  Other  officers  sacrificed  to  their  forefathers."  And 
this  last  sacrifice  was  open  to  all,  "  from  the  Son  of  Heaven 
down  to  the  common  people." 

The  state  religion  of  the  present  day  has,  however,  one 
great  principle,  which  has  been  referred  to  in  Chapter  XV, 
and  which  permits  of  being  summed  up  in  a  sentence.  Ac- 
cording to  this  principle  the  unseen  world  is  formed  exactly 
on  the  model  of  the  Chinese  empire  ;  in  other  words  the 
universe  consists  of  two  parts,  the  Chinese  empire  below, 
and  the  Chinese  empire  on  a  larger  scale  above.  As  there 
is  one  Emperor,  or  Huang  Ti,  over  all  the  earth,  who  is  the 
Son  of  Heaven,  and  under  whom  are  ranked  all  the  officers 
of  earthly  government,  so  is  there  an  emperor,  Shang  Ti, 
in  Heaven  at  the  head  of  all  the  spirit  rulers.  As  on  earth 
there  are  ministers  and  ofiicers  of  all  grades,  so  in  the  unseen 
world  are  there  spirit  officers,  who,  like  their  earthly  counter- 
parts, have  charge  each  over  his  own  district.  Strangely 
enough  the  deification,  appointment  and  transfer  from  post 
to  post  of  these  spirit  rulers,  is  in  the  hands  of  the  earthly 
emperor,  and  not  of  the  King  above. 

Again,  as  on  earth  there  are  yamens,  prisons,  tortures, 
so  in  the  spirit  world  is  there  the  great  yamen  of  the  Chinese 
Pluto,  including  his  "  earth  prison  "  or  hell,  with  its  host 
of  judges,  lictors,  torturers  and  sufferers,  administering  or 
suffering  all  the  horrors  that  the  Chinese  mind  can  imagine. 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— CONFUCIANISM  241 

Nor  can  the  people  be  accused  of  bad  logic  when  they  argue 
from  all  this  that,  as  there  are  yamen  runners  on  earth,  ever 
on  the  look  out  for  plunder,  and  who  of  necessity  have  to  be 
"  squared,"  so  in  the  spirit  world  are  there  demon  runners 
ever  trying  to  injure  the  individual,  and  surely  it  is  not 
wise  to  be  on  bad  terms  with  them,  when  a  few  occasional 
offerings  will  keep  them  quiet ! 

This  latter  view  the  monks,  both  Taoist  and  Buddhist,  are 
only  too  ready  to  exploit  to  their  own  pecuniary  advantage. 
Nor  need  they  limit  their  enterprise  to  the  poor  and  ignorant, 
for  the  Confucian  scholar,  mandarin,  prince,  and  emperor 
are  as  full  of  superstition  as  the  uneducated.  Wherever  one 
goes  the  Pa-kua,  or  octagonal  divining  frame  of  the  Confucian 
classics  is  met  with,  just  as  is  the  cross  in  southern  Europe, 
and  the  horse-shoe  in  some  unenlightened  parts  of  England. 
Doors  have  pictures  of  the  door  gods  painted  on  them,  or 
at  least  a  charm  of  some  sort  affixed,  and  amulets  of  many 
kinds  are  carried  on  the  person,  even  by  the  learned,  all 
for  the  purpose  of  turning  away  the  powers  of  evil.  For, 
while  the  Confucian  literate  will  sometimes  laugh  a  sceptical 
laugh,  as  Roman  Augurs  did  over  the  quivering  entrails  of 
their  divinatory  sheep,  he  still  deems  it  discreet  to  yield 
to  the  common  superstitions  of  his  race,  even  though  he  take 
no  conspicuous  part  therein.  Nor  is  he  in  this  respect  a 
disobedient  follower  of  his  Master,  who  told  him  to  "  serve 
the  spirits,  and  keep  them  at  a  distance." 

The  consequence  of  this  system  of  religion  is  that  every 
mandarin  in  charge  of  a  district,  whether  it  be  a  huge  province 
or  a  small  township,  must,  in  virtue  of  his  office,  worship 
his  spirit  colleague.  Twice  a  month,  he  presents  himself 
before  these  Chinese  deceased  partiots,  who  have  been 
imperially  deified,  and  appointed  to  act  with  him  in  controlling 
the  seen  and  unseen  world  in  his  particular  locality.  From 
which  it  is  manifest  that  until  the  law  is  altered,  the  prin- 
cipal civil  offices  of  this  empire  can  never  be  filled  by  Chris- 
tians. Some  there  may  be,  who,  like  Naaman,  bow  before 
Rimmon,  in  their  hearts  believing  something  nobler,  but 
their  loftier  faith  is  a  secret  thing,  and  their  baser  service 
is  open  and  manifest. 

As  to  the  common  people,  while  the  Confucian  code  limits 
Q 


242  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

their  sacrifices  to  the  household  gods  and  to  the  spirits  of 
their  ancestors,  yet  in  extremity,  all  the  Chinese,  from  time 
immemorial,  have  in  their  hour  of  stress  and  peril  made 
spontaneous  appeal  to  high  heaven,  and  with  streaming 
eyes  and  outstretched  hands  sought  the  aid  of  the  Father 
Whom  they  know  not,  for  just  as  Shang-ti  is  the  emperor's 
final  Court  of  Appeal,  so  is  high  heaven  that  of  his  people. 
Confucius,  indeed,  by  his  own  example,  showed  that  he  con- 
sidered the  ear  of  heaven  to  be  open  to  the  cry  of  all  men  ;  and 
Mencius  definitely  taught  that  "  even  though  a  man  be  evil, 
he  too,  with  dishevelled  locks,  and  a  cleansed  body,  may 
serve  Shang-ti."  While,  however,  all  may  make  their  appeal 
to  heaven,  and  worship  heaven  and  earth,  none  but  the 
emperor  may  offer  sacrifices  thereto.  These  are  the  highest 
token  of  his  sovereignty.  For  another  to  offer  them  would 
imply  a  claim  to  the  throne,  with  consequent  civil  war,  for 
just  as  there  can  only  be  one  Shang  Ti  above,  so  there  can 
only  be  one  Huang-ti  (emperor)  below.  Western  sovereigns, 
Christianity  apart,  are  giving  a  rude  shock  to  the  latter 
notion,  and  with  the  fall  thereof  much  else  will  fall,  not 
excluding  this  wonderful  theological  system,  so  logical,  if 
only  it  had  not  feet  of  clay. 

Whatever  else  the  common  or  uncommon  Chinaman 
worships,  on  no  account  may  he  overlook  the  correct  sacrifice 
to  the  spirits  of  his  forefathers.  In  the  same  way  that  Pope 
tells  us  that  "  the  proper  study  of  mankind  is  man,"  so  the 
Confucian  code  instructs  the  Chinaman  that  pre-eminently, 
the  proper  worship  of  mankind  is  man,  either  in  the  shape 
of  the  deceased  national  worthy,  or  of  the  departed  ancestor. 
It  may  indeed  fairly  be  said  that  ancestral  worship  is  the 
only  universal  article  in  the  Confucian  creed,  and  a  Chinaman 
might  be  readily  conceived  as  saying,  "  I  believe  in  my 
ancestors,  and  that  it  is  my  duty  to  offer  incense  twice  a 
month  before  their  spirit  thrones,  and  to  sacrifice  at  least 
once  a  year  to  them,  good,  bad,  and  indifferent."  Such 
is  the  State  religion  of  China  for  the  private  individual. 
In  addition,  he  may  worship  a  heaven  full  of  gods  and  a  hell 
full  of  devils  if  he  will,  but  the  man  who  refuses  "  to  provide 
for  those  of  his  own  house  "  is  worse  than  an  infidel.  The 
man  who  merely  neglects  ancestral  sarcifices  is  too  common 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— CONFUCIANISM  243 

for  notice,  but  he  who  refuses — as  in  the  case  of  a  Christian, 
— what  is  he  but  a  gentile,  a  pagan,  a  giaour,  an  atheist  ? 

Nor,  as  has  been  seen,  is  the  emperor  exempt  from  this  uni- 
versal article  of  faith.  To  his  ancestors  he  also  must  sacrifice, 
as  to  them  he  is  responsible  for  the  way  in  which  he  maintains 
the  empire  they  have  handed  down  to  him.  In  like  manner, 
also,  is  each  male  member  of  the  household  supposed  to  be 
responsible  to  his  ancestors  for  the  maintenance  of  the  family. 
The  ancestor  has  become  the  god  to  whom  account  must  be 
given.  Nor  does  the  ancestor  always  await  the  arrival  of 
the  descendant  in  the  spirit  world  for  punishment  or  reward. 
To  the  delinquent  he  may  bring  sickness,  bad  harvests,  bad 
trade,  and  a  multitude  of  other  evils  ;  a  somewhat  unusual 
manner  of  maintaining  a  family ;  still,  there  must  be  some 
explanation  for  these  untoward  events,  and  why  not  put 
the  blame  on  the  unfilial  son  and  the  stern  ancestor  ? 

In  every  clan, — and  often  a  village  of  five  thousand  in- 
habitants belongs  to  the  same  clan, — there  are  three  forms 
of  ancestral  worship.  First  in  importance  comes  the  annual 
clan  sacrifice  in  the  large  temple,  which  every  male  member 
of  the  clan  is  entitled  to  attend.  This  encourages  the  visit 
of  relatives  who  have  removed  to  a  distance,  and  helps  them 
to  keep  up  their  connection  with  old  relatives  and  friends. 
At  the  annual  clan  sacrifices  only  the  ancestors  common  to 
all  are  worshipped.  Secondly,  there  are  the  subsidiary 
sacrifices  in  the  branch  temples,  when  the  ancestors  common 
to  each  branch  are  severally  worshipped.  Thirdly,  there 
are  the  family  sacrifices,  when  the  family  makes  its  offerings 
to  its  own  immediate  progenitors. 

These  are  all  times  of  reunion,  and  should  be  times  of 
dignified  rejoicing,  but  the  temples  are  endowed,  the  temple- 
lands  being  cultivated  by  members  of  the  clan  seriatim,  who, 
after  providing  the  sacrifices,  are  allowed  to  pocket  the 
surplus  income.  Herein  lies  cause  for  not  infrequent  wrangles. 
Moreover,  the  Chinaman  is  above  all  things  economical,  and 
naturally  looks  upon  whole-burnt  offerings  as  wicked  waste. 
Therefore,  although  the  ancestors  are  allowed  to  sniff  the 
fragrance  of  the  offerings,  the  worshippers  take  good  care 
to  draw  the  line  there  ;  for,  when  the  genuflexions  are  over, 
all  sit  down  and,  with  resounding  enjoyment   dispose  of  the 


244  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

flesh,  the  wine  and  the  steaming  bowls  of  rice.  Glowing 
faces  soon  shine  ruddily  on  every  side,  and,  what  with  fuel 
in  the  shape  of  temple  incense,  and  fire  in  the  form  of  sacri- 
ficial wine,  no  wonder  that  the  eyes  of  the  ancestral  spirits 
are  occasionally  shocked  by  seeing  the  distorted  visages  of 
their  descendants,  and  their  ears  by  listening  to  the  grossest 
mutual  abuse,  in  which  the  poor  maternal  progenitors  of 
the  respective  parties  have  plentiful  cause  to  hide  their 
blushing  faces. 

Human  nature  is  as  human  in  China  as  elsewhere,  and 
the  host  of  the  indifferent  and  the  negligent  would  be  mightily 
swelled  were  there  no  emoluments  connected  with  the  service. 
Nevertheless,  ancestral  worship  is  the  most  formidable 
obstacle,  save  indifference,  that  this  land  presents  to  the 
spread  of  Christianity.  Remembering  this  fact,  and  that 
there  is  much  that  is  attractive  in  the  idea  of  family  reunion, 
it  is  not  matter  for  the  least  surprise  that  the  Jesuits  per- 
mitted their  converts  to  take  their  full  share  in  those  cere- 
monies. Nor  are  there  lacking  Protestant  missionaries  who 
also  maintain  that  Chinese  Christians  ought  not  to  be  called 
upon  to  excommunicate  themselves  from  the  clan  assemblies. 
Such  men  view  the  meeting  as  a  family  gathering,  and  the 
offerings  in  the  light  of  a  memorial  feast.  As  to  kneeling 
before  the  picture  of  the  ancestor,  if  the  son  did  so  when  his 
father  was  alive,  why  not  now  ?  They  argue,  besides,  that 
the  growing  influence  of  Christian  teaching  would  purge  this 
interesting  ceremony  of  everything  superstitious  or  harmful, 
and  change  it  into  a  healthy  and  beneficial  occasion.  In 
some  places,  where  Christians  are  numerous  and  on  good 
terms  with  their  fellow  clansmen,  an  arrangement  has  been 
made  whereby  the  Christian  may  take  his  turn  in  cultivating 
the  temple  endowment,  provide  the  feast,  and  be  present 
thereat  but  allow  some  unconverted  member  of  the  clan  to 
make  the  offering.  In  other  places,  excommunication  from 
aU  clan  rights  has  taken  place,  and  the  Christian's  name 
been  expunged  from  the  clan  register,  involving  him  in 
serious  loss,  suffering  and  disgrace. 

To  sum  up  then,  the  state  religion  of  China,  or  Confucian- 
ism so-called,  while  recognising  the  existence  of  a  Supreme 
Being,  gives  itself  up  chiefly  to  nature  worship,  and  to  the 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— CONFUCIANISM  245 

adoration  of  sages,  heroes,  and  ancestors.  No  graven  image 
of  God,  of  Confucius,  or  of  the  ancestor  is  permitted ;  and 
yet  influences,  modern  rather  than  ancient,  and  probably 
emanating  from  Buddhism,  have  made  the  State  religion 
one  of  the  most  idolatrous  on  earth,  for  not  only  are  the  State 
temples  filled  with  idols  of  every  description,  but  every 
street  has  its  shrine  and  in  palace  and  hovel  the  household 
gods  are  always  found.  Animal  sacrifices  are  regularly 
offered,  the  pig  and  the  goat  being  the  chief  sacrificial  victims. 
A  priesthood  is  unknown,  though  Taoist  and  Buddhist  monks 
are  sometimes  employed  as  caretakers.  Sacrifices  are  not 
expiatory,  but  propitiatory,  or  simply  oblations.  The  exis- 
tence of  the  soul  after  death  is  clearly  recognised  by  the  fact 
that  most  of  their  gods  have  been  men,  and  this  along  with 
ancestral  worship  are  a  missionary's  most  effective  argument 
in  favour  of  the  continuation  of  the  soul  in  another  sphere. 
Rewards  and  punishments  are  admitted  by  Confucius,  though 
chiefly  falling  in  this  life  upon  the  individual  or  his  descen- 
dants, much  as  was  the  case  under  the  Mosaic  Law,  but,  in 
later  periods,  through  Taoist  and  Buddhist  channels,  probably 
emanating  from  Christian  sources,  great  stress  has  also  been 
placed  upon  reward  and  punishment  in  the  life  hereafter. 

That  the  Confucianists  have  extolled  their  Master  extrava- 
gantly need  cause  no  surprise,  rather  it  may  incite  sympathy. 
Very  much  isolated  from  and  independent  of  the  rest  of  the 
world,  and  hving  in  ignorance  of  their  own  ignorance,  they 
have  scarcely  heard  of  any  other  sage  save  their  own,  to 
whom  they  owe  more  for  practical  guidance  than  to  any  or 
all  the  philosophers  their  land  has  produced.  What  the 
Israelites  owed  to  Moses  for  his  loftier  teaching,  that  the 
Chinese  owe  in  proportionate  measure  to  Confucius.  He  it 
was  who  showed  them  the  way  out  of  a  wilderness  of  gross 
superstitions  into  the  fairer  land  of  a  spiritual  worship, 
a  worship  free  from  the  orgies  of  Greece  and  Rome,  infinitely 
more  humane  than  the  monstrosities  of  India,  and  one  that 
knows  nothing  of  the  fanaticism  of  the  Arabian  prophet. 
He  it  was  who  showed  them  the  glories  of  justice,  righteous- 
ness and  benevolence,  and  who  gave  them  as  the  key  to  life 
the  word  "  Reciprocity,"  or  in  the  words  of  his  golden  rule, 
"  Do  not  unto  others  what  you  would  not  have  them  dp 


246 


A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 


to  you."  And  he  it  was  who,  though  "  not  knowing  Hfe," 
and  therefore  dechning  to  discuss  death  and  the  hereafter, 
yet,  by  the  worship  of  ancestors,  continued  to  the  Chinese 
their  hope  of  immortality. 

That  the  Chinese  have  not  lived  up  to  their  privileges, 
but  perverted  to  idolatry  and  gross  superstition,  cannot  be 
laid  at  the  door  of  Confucius,  any  more  than  the  failure  of 
Israel  to  follow  his  teaching  can  be  charged  against  Moses, 
or  the  sinful  shortcomings  of  the  Christian  Church  towards 
the  pagan  world  be  attributed  to  Our  Lord  and  Saviour. 
Prosaic,  matter-of-fact,  no  dreamer  of  dreams  or  seer  of 
visions,  he  has  been  the  safest  guide  this  people  has  possessed. 
Superstitious  though  they  are,  they  would  have  been  even 
worse  but  for  him,  and  his  moral  rectitude  and  acknow- 
ledgement of  a  power  above,  has  made  him  a  not  unworthy 
forerunner  of  Christ  to  this  spiritually  helpless  mass  of 
humanity.  Not  knowing  the  Father,  and  all  the  wealth 
with  which  that  word  was  filled  by  Our  Lord,  he  could  not 
proclaim  Him.  That  is  why  we  are  sent.  To  his  formal 
morals  we  have  little  to  add,  but  to  those  informal  morals 
which  are  impossible  of  codification,  save  as  Our  Master  did 
so  on  the  Mount  of  Beatitudes  and  on  the  cross,  we  can  make 
the  all-powerful  addition  of  Spirit  and  Life. 


COSMOLOGICAL    IDEAS  1 


<^. 


Ill 
III 


^^ 


II 


^  See  Legge's  "  Yi  King  "  ;  also  Canon  MacClatchie's  "  Yih  King," 
and  his  "Confucian  Cosmogony." 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— CONFUCIANISM  247 

These  two  figures  contain  within  them  the  body  and  soul 
of  Chinese  Philosophy.  They  are  believed  to  express  all 
the  laws  of  heaven  and  earth,  of  gods  and  men.  There  is, 
indeed  nothing  that  does  not  come  within  the  bounds  of 
their  interpretation,  and  he  who  can  fathom  their  mysterious 
significance  may  rule  men  as  easily  as  turning  the  palm  of 
the  hand  upwards.  Here  is  the  key  of  all  philosophy,  here 
the  centre  and  circumference  of  all  wisdom.  I  once  heard 
a  Chinaman  say  that  it  would  be  a  pity  if  foreigners  obtained 
possession  of  the  "  Book  of  Changes," — which  treats  on  the 
first  of  these  figures — as,  being  clever  people,  they  would 
speedily  find  out  its  interpretation,  and  rob  China  of  her 
birthright. 

Two  thousand  five  hundred  years  ago  Confucius  gave 
much  earnest  study  to  the  first  of  the  above  S5nTibols,  and 
in  his  old  age  longed  to  give  more,  in  order  to  unlock  the 
mysteries  of  nature,  and  attain  to  the  highest  virtue.  To-day 
these  figures  still  front  us  in  every  city  street,  and  in  every 
hamlet,  where  they  are  chiefly  employed  for  bewildering 
spirits  and  bringing  in  lucky  influences  ;  and  these  same 
symbols  still,  as  of  yore,  provide  the  geomancer,  the  necro- 
mancer and  every  other  mancer  with  his  principal  instrument 
for  telling  the  fates  and  forecasting  the  future.  Let  us  not, 
however,  look  scornfully  upon  this  rusty  old  key,  with  which 
the  ancients  sought  to  unlock  the  secret  chambers  of  God, 
for  it  is  the  fate  of  philosophic  keys  to  grow  rusty,  and  even 
our  own,  yesterday  so  bright  and  polished,  has  since  the 
discovery  of  radio-activity,  begun  to  wear  its  coat  of  brown, 
and  will  soon  be  discarded  for  a  better. 

The  first  figure  is  known  as  the  Pa-kua,  or  eight-sided 
divining  diagram.  The  second  is  known  as  the  Great  Extreme 
or  the  Great  Monad,  representing  the  Cosmic  protoplasm, 
the  Ovum  Mundi  of  the  ancients.  As  to  the  Pa-kua,  the 
Chinese  believed  it  to  have  been  divinely  revealed  by  a 
"  dragon-horse  "  or  a  tortoise,  to  Fu-she,  the  reputed  founder 
of  the  Chinese  nation,  whose  reign  is  placed  three  thousand 
years  before  Christ.  Its  real  origin  may  have  been  in 
Babylonia — unless  indeed  all  Western  philosophy,  like  every- 
thing else  of  value,  had  its  origin  in  China  !  Canon  Mac- 
Clatchie  considers  the  octagon  to  be  related  to  the  ogdoad 


248  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

of  Western  mythologists,  the  father,  mother,  three  sons  and 
three  daughters  who  founded  the  human  race,  as  in  the  case 
of  Noah,  and  as  some  say  of  Adam,  for  these  eight  family 
relationships,  amongst  numerous  other  terms  are  applied 
to  the  respective  sides  of  the  diagram.^ 

At  first  each  side  consisted  of  three  whole  or  divided  lines, 
the  divided  line  representing  the  negative  or  maternal  prin- 
ciple, and  the  whole  or  undivided  one  the  converse.  A 
process  of  reduplication  increased  the  three  lines  to  six, 
making  a  combination  of  sixty-four  possible.  These  varying 
combinations  make  the  "  changes  "  which  give  its  name  to 
the  book  above-mentioned,  the  common  property  of  Con- 
fucianist  and  Taoist.  These  lines  indicate  the  revolutions 
which  are  the  order  of  the  universe  in  all  its  veist  variety, 
and  the  Book  of  Metamorphoses,  or  Book  of  Changes  as  it 
is  generally  called,  is  the  medium  through  which  the  hidden 
meaning  of  these  transmutations  may  be  understood  by 
men.  The  two  figures,  especially  the  second,  have  in  later 
times  been  taken  to  represent  the  Ovum  Mundi,  or  Chaos, 
which  on  every  secular  destruction  of  the  universe  is  conserved, 
along  with  its  four  pairs  of  human  beings,  for  the  formation 
of  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth. 

Fu-she's  notes  on  his  Pa-kua,  if  any,  must  have  been  of 
the  briefest.  About  B.C.  1150  they  were  either  edited  or 
supplemented  by  King  Wan  while  he  was  a  prisoner,  and  to 
his  son  he  bequeathed  the  task  of  completing  what  he  had 
begun.  Six  centuries  later  Confucius  edited  the  compilation, 
and  himself  added  another  commentary,  carrying  the  prin- 
ciples of  his  predecessors  into  his  own  special  realm,  the 
kingdom  of  morals.  Many  are  the  men  who  since  his  day 
have  philosophised  over  its  abstruse  contents,  but  the  modern 
interpretation  was  not  fixed  untU  more  than  sixteen  centuries 
after  Confucius  had  himself  made  man's  great  metamorphosis. 
Then  in  a.d.  1170,  China's  most  famous  commentator,  Chu 
Fu-tsz,  whose  interpretations  of  all  the  classics  are  to  this  day 
the  orthodoxy  of  the  land,  added  to  his  own  annotations 
a  valuable  treatise  on  what  he  deemed  to  be  its  teaching. 

Before  the  days  of  Chu,  however,  Hindu  ideas  had  been 

^  The  great  authority  Dr  Legge  disputes  such  an  inference,  but  gives 
f»o  satisfactory  explanation  of  this  interesting  combination. 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— CONFUCIANISM  249 

widely  promulgated  in  China,  and  it  is  possible  that  cos- 
mological  notions  from  still  further  west  had  filtered  in, 
chiefly  through  Arabian  and  Nestorian  channels.  Taoist 
writers  also,  who  have  ever  formed  an  influential  liberal 
school,  were  not  without  influence  on  Chu,  for  he  is  known 
to  have  given  earnest  attention  in  his  early  years  to  their 
productions,  as  well  as  to  those  of  the  Buddhists.  Hence, 
his  philosophy  is  probably  coloured  from  sources  neither 
purely  Chinese  nor  strictly  Confucian.  Nevertheless,  his 
treatise,  difficult  of  comprehension  though  it  is,  gives  the 
ablest  conspectus  of  native  ideas  that  China  knows. 

First,  then,  the  later  Confucian  philosophy  asserts  the 
eternity  of  matter  as  well  as  the  eternity  of  mind.  Our 
own  scriptures  have  not  trammelled  us  with  any  dogma 
either  of  the  eternity  or  non-eternity  of  matter — nor  indeed 
have  the  writings  of  Confucius,  who  instead  of  philosophising 
confined  himself  chiefly  to  morals — for  when  we  read  in  the 
Bible  that  God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  we  are 
left  free  to  believe  that  it  is  the  form  which  is  spoken  of  rather 
than  the  substance,  indeed  the  physicist  is  beginning  to  find 
it  more  difficult  to  describe  what  he  means  by  matter  than 
the  psychologist  what  he  means  by  soul.  Primordial  matter 
is  named  Ch'i,  literally,  air,  breath,  ether.  Within  this 
dwells  an  inherent  primum  mobile  called  Li,  literally,  law, 
principle.  Chu  Fu-tsz  tells  us  that  "  in  the  whole  universe 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  Ch'i  without  Li,  or  Li  without  Ch'i." 
This  "  Li "  he  describes  elsewhere  as  another  name  for  the 
ruling  power,  or  God,  Who  fills  all  creation,  pervades  the 
whole  universe,  and  in  Whom  all  things  consist, 

A  great  difference  of  opinion  exists  amongst  European 
writers  as  to  what  the  Confucian  school  mean  by  God.  In 
regard  to  the  two  terms  used,  Shen  and  Shang  Ti,  or  simply 
Ti,  one  class  of  writers  considers  that  Shang  Ti  or  Ti  are 
synonymous  with  Shen.  Another  school,  of  which  Canon 
MacClatchie  was  the  ablest  exponent,  holds  that  Shang 
Ti  is  both  the  universe  and  its  demiurge,  and  that  beyond 
Shang  Ti  lies  the  real  God  over  all,  the  utmost  God,  (Chih 
Shen)  Who  also  pervades  this  great  hermaphrodite,  Shang  Ti. 
This  view  is  utterly  repugnant  to  the  former  class  of  writers, 
and  it  is  certainly  difficult  to  find  anything  in  the  original 


2SO  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

Confucian  writings  which  lends  colour  to  such  an  interpreta- 
tion. In  this  sense  Ti,  i.e.,  Shang  Ti,  is  considered  to  be  the 
Chinese  Zeus,  or  Jupiter,  and  the  phonetical  resemblance 
to  these  two  Greek  and  Latin  terms,  as  well  as  to  the  cognates 
Dyaus,  Tiu,  Zio  (one  might  almost  add  theos  and  deus) 
deserves  note. 

This  school  of  translators  tells  us  that  just  as  the  Chinese 
view  man  as  soul  and  body,  so  they  view  the  heaven  and 
earth  as  an  animated  head  and  body,  Ti,  i.e.,  Shang  Ti,  the 
Supreme  Ruler,  being  the  immanent  and  all-permeating 
Soul.  Hence  the  Chinese  sayings,  "  The  living  Heaven 
and  the  living  Earth,"  and  "  Man  is  a  miniature  Heaven, 
Heaven  is  a  magnified  Man,"  are  taken  literally.  There- 
fore also  everything  is  Shang  Ti  in  some  form  or  other,  and 
every  object  worshipped  is  part  of  God.  As  Chu  says  : 
"  The  one  Mind  runs  through  all,  the  one  Matter  forms  all." 
Mind  and  matter  are  "  certainly  two  different  things,  yet, 
in  looking  at  anything,  the  two  are  blended  together,  and 
cannot  be  separated." 

Shang  Ti,  by  this  school,  is  also  looked  upon  as  the  "  T'ai 
I,"  or  "  Great  Monad,"  who  "  divides  in  order  to  form 
heaven  and  earth,  and  gyrates  in  order  to  produce  light 
and  darkness."  He  is  thus  the  body  and  soul  of  all  creation, 
"  One,  and  yet  all  things  ;  all  things,  and  yet  one."  The 
system,  being  pantheistic,  is  therefore  monotheistic,  in  that 
He  is  the  One  of  whom  and  in  whom  all  things  consist,  gods 
and  men  alike.  Needless  to  say  these  philosophisings  of 
the  later  Confucian  school  are  limited  to  the  few,  for,  as 
Professor  Flint  points  out,  pantheism  "  has  never  been  in 
itself  the  religion  of  any  people.  It  has  never  been  more 
than  the  philosophy  of  certain  speculative  individuals." 
China  like  "  India  has  been  no  exception,  for  even  there, 
in  order  to  gain  and  retain  the  people,  pantheism  has  had 
to  combine  with  polytheism." 

Matter,  or  ether,  is  divided  by  its  inherent  Principle  into 
a  duality,  known  from  ancient  times  as  Yin  and  Yang.  As 
the  word  Yin  resembles  the  Yoni  of  the  Hindus  (probably 
the  Juno  or  Dione  of  Europe),  and  as  the  word  Yang  resembles 
the  Langa  of  the  Hindus,  Canon  MacClatchie  has  inferred  a 
similarity  in  their  meaning,  a  view  strongly  objected  to  by 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— CONFUCIANISM  251 

Dr  Legge  and  others,  who  find  no  trace  of  phaUic  worship 
in  Confucianism.  Yang  is  Heaven,  Light,  the  Sun,  Hard, 
the  positive  or  paternal  principle.  Yin  is  Earth,  Darkness, 
the  Moon,  Soft,  the  negative  or  maternal  principle.  Hence 
the  imperial  sacrifices  at  the  round  altar  of  heaven  and  the 
square  altar  of  earth,  are  considered  by  the  former  school  to 
be  the  worship  of  the  Animated  Universe,  or  Shang  Ti  as 
generator  of  all — a  view  denied  by  the  other,  who  consider 
the  Shang  Ti  of  the  classics  to  be  a  spiritual  being  separate 
and  distinct  from  matter.  Yin  and  Yang  are  undoubtedly 
used  in  the  generative  sense,  but  their  original  meaning 
being  Sun  and  Moon,  the  ruling  powers  of  day  and  night, 
they  have  become  words  of  wide  philosophic  use  for  express- 
ing antitheses,  as,  subject  and  object,  good  and  evil,  upper 
and  lower,  motion  and  rest. 

In  regard  to  creation,  Chu  Fu-tsz  tells  us  that  "  In  the 
beginning  heaven  and  earth  were  just  the  Yin  and  Yang 
ether.  This  one  ether  revolved,  grinding  round  and  round. 
When  it  ground  quickly  much  sediment  was  compressed, 
which  having  no  means  of  exit,  coagulated  and  formed  the 
earth  in  the  centre.  The  clear  part  of  the  ether  then  be- 
came heaven,  the  sun,  the  moon  and  the  stars,  which  un- 
ceasingly revolve  on  the  outside.  The  earth  then  remained 
in  the  centre  motionless,  but  it  is  not  below  the  centre. 
Heaven  revolves  unceasingly,  night  and  day  it  turns  round, 
hence  the  earth  remains  exactly  in  the  centre.  If  heaven 
stood  still  for  an  instant  then  the  earth  would  sink  down, 
but  heaven  revolves  with  speed,  hence  much  sediment 
coagulates  in  the  centre.  The  earth  is  this  sediment  of  the 
ether." 

"  At  the  beginning  of  heaven  and  earth,  before  Chaos  was 
divided  (Gen.  i.  2,  7),  I  think  there  were  only  two  elements, 
fire  and  water,  and  the  sediment  of  the  water  formed  the 
earth.  When  we  ascend  a  height  and  look  down,  the  host 
of  hills  have  the  appearance  of  the  sea.  The  water  just 
flowed  Uke  this,  but  I  do  not  know  at  what  period  it  coagu- 
lated." 

Some  one  remarked  that  from  the  creation  to  the  present 
day  was  not  ten  thousand  years,  and  wished  to  know  how 
it  was  before  that  time.     He  replied  "  Before  that  there  was 


252  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

another  clear  opening  [i.e.,  another  heaven  and  earth),  like 
the  present  one."  Being  further  asked  whether  heaven  and 
earth  can  utterly  perish  he  replied,  "  They  cannot,  but  man- 
kind totally  degenerates,  then  the  whole  shall  be  smitten 
back  into  Chaos,  and  men  and  things  shall  cease  to  exist ; 
and  then  everything  shall  begin  anew." 

He  was  asked  how  the  first  man  was  generated,  and  re- 
plied, "  By  the  transmutations  of  the  ether  ;  the  essence  of 
the  Yin  and  Yang  and  of  the  five  material  elements  united 
and  produced  his  form." 

"  Before  this  present  period  there  was  another  world- 
creation,  and  before  that  there  was  yet  another,  so  that 
Motion  and  Rest,  Yin  and  Yang,  have  no  beginning.  As 
little  things  shadow  forth  great  things,  this  may  be  illus- 
trated by  the  revolutions  of  day  and  night.  What  Wu-fung 
says  about  the  great  cessation  of  the  entire  ether,  the  vast 
and  boundless  agitation  of  all  things,  the  whole  expanse 
of  waters  changing  position,  the  mountains  bursting  asunder, 
the  channels  being  obliterated,  men  and  things  all  coming 
to  an  end,  and  the  ancient  vestiges  all  being  destroyed— all 
this  refers  to  the  utter  destruction  of  the  world  by  Deluge. 
We  frequently  see,  on  lofty  mountains,  the  shells  of  the 
sea-snail  and  pearl-oyster  as  it  were  generated  in  the  middle 
of  stones  these  stones  were  (part  of)  the  soil  of  the  former 
world." 

"  Heaven  embraces  earth,  and  his  ether  penetrates  every 
part,  so  that  the  whole  is  heaven."  "  Beneath  the  earth 
is  also  heaven."  "  Heaven  and  earth  have  no  external, 
hence  their  form  has  limits,  while  their  ether  has  no  limit." 
"  Outside  the  ether  there  must  also  be  a  most  thick  shell  by 
which  it  is  kept  firm."  "  If  heaven  were  bright,  then  the 
sun  and  moon  could  not  give  any  light ;  but  heaven  is  not 
bright,  the  darkness  of  midnight  is  the  real  colour  of  heaven." 
"  The  sun  travels  as  much  space  above  the  earth  as  below." 

"  We  must  not  assert  that  the  Mind  of  heaven  and  earth 
is  not  spiritual ;  but  it  does  not  think  or  concern  itself  about 
matters  as  man  does."  "  Heaven  and  earth  have  no  other 
occupation  than  merely  to  exercise  Mind  in  generating  things." 
"  Heaven  and  earth  with  this  Mind  pervade  the  Myriad  of 
things ;    man  obtains  it,  and  it  is  then  the  Mind  of  man ; 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— CONFUCIANISM  253 

Things  obtain  it,  and  then  it  is  the  Mind  of  things  ;  Grass, 
Trees,  Birds,  and  Beasts,  obtain  it  and  then  it  is  the  mind 
of  Grass,  Trees,  Birds,  and  Beasts;  this  is  just  the  one  Mind 
of  heaven  and  earth." 

"  To  say  that  heaven  has  a  person  up  there  who  judges 
good  and  evil ;  we  must  not  assert  this.  To  say  there  is 
nothing  whatever  which  rules  it,  we  also  must  not  assert." 
As  to  the  "  heaven  "  of  the  classics,  he  says,  "  In  some  places 
the  azure  sky  is  meant,  in  others  the  Ruling  Power,  and  in 
others  Law  {Li)  is  meant." 

"  Heaven  by  his  ether  revolves  outside,  and  hence  earth 
is,  in  fact,  in  his  midst,  steady  and  without  motion."  He 
does  not  consider  that  there  are  nine  different  heavens,  but 
that  "  Heaven  has  nine  (spiral)  spheres."  "  Earth,  although 
she  is  firm,  is  yet  hollow  ;  and  therefore  heaven's  ether  flows 
forth  into  the  midst  of  the  earth,  and  issues  forth  from  the 
interior  of  the  earth." 

"  There  must  be  a  governing  Power  which  causes  motion. 
This  idea  men  must  for  themselves  see  into,  words  cannot 
exhaustively  treat  of  it." 

In  response  to  a  question  he  replied,  "  Since  heaven  and 
earth  have  form  and  ether  (or  substantial  form),  how  can 
they  avoid  perishing  ?  But,  after  each  destruction,  there 
is  a  fresh  generation." 

"  Good  and  evil  are  both  heavenly  principles,  and  we 
cannot  assert  that  evil  is  not  also  nature  (as  well  as  good 
is)."  That  is,  just  as  Li  (Law)  is  incomplete  with  only 
Yang  without  Yin,  so  evil  and  evil  things  such  as  "  serpents, 
scorpions,  weeds,  and  poisons  "  are  necessary  to  a  complete 
Cosmos. 

As  in  the  Platonic  writings  so  in  the  Confucian,  God  is 
spoken  of  as  "  the  Good,"  and  as  He  who  "  adorns  the  myriad 
things." 

It  is  beyond  the  province  of  this  book  to  give  anything 
but  a  brief  synopsis  of  Confucian  philosophy,  but  the  above 
excerpts  will  show  that  the  riddle  of  the  Universe  has  stirred 
some  in  this  nation  to  deep  thought,  and  that  in  their  specu- 
lations they  have  rivalled  the  ancient  philosophers  of  the 
west.  In  their  unguided  gropings  they  have  attained  to 
some  dim  perception  of  the  "  Infinite,"  the  "  Good,"  the 


254  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

"  Adorning  "  God  our  Father,  and  have  given  utterance  to 
conceptions  noble  and  elevating.  If,  however,  it  were  neces- 
sary for  St  Paul  to  go  to  Greece  in  spite  of  all  its  fine  philo- 
sophy, equally  so  is  it  needful  that  we  should  "  declare  "  to 
these  thinkers  of  China  the  God,  Whom  they  "  ignorantly 
worship." 


XVII 
NATIVE  RELIGIONS:    TAOISM 

"Hast  thou  heard  the  secret  of  God  ?  " 

Between  Lao-tsz  and  Confucius  there  lies  almost  as  wide 
a  chasm  as  that  which  divides  pure  Confucianism  from  the 
grosser  forms  of  Taoism.  With  all  his  excellencies  Confucius 
scarcely  taught  his  followers  to  lift  their  eyes  above  the 
common  level ;  their  meditations  were  to  be  solely  of  present 
life  and  earthly  duty.  But  the  eyes  of  Lao-tsz  and  a  few 
of  his  immediate  disciples  sought  the  higher  regions  of  philo- 
sophy ;  and  their  hearts  were  towards  the  eternal  mysteries. 
Not  satisfied  with  the  hurry  and  fuss  of  mankind  they  would 
know  the  secret  of  the  effectual  quietness  of  heaven  ;  not 
content  with  what  their  natural  eyes  beheld,  they  would 
probe  with  independent  spirit  into  the  cause  and  principle 
of  things  visible  and  invisible.  Hence  the  name  "  Tao," 
which  term  seems  to  mean  the  eternal  law  or  power  by  which 
all  phenomena  is  produced,  or,  in  the  words  of  Dr  Richard, 
"  the  mysterious  and  eternal  powers  working  throughout 
nature  and  man." 

Alas  !  the  mass  of  the  disciples  of  Lao-tsz  long  ago  left 
the  supernal  heights,  and  to-day  they  scour  the  very  depths 
of  hell  itself,  whence  they  bring  up  devils  that  make  heavy 
the  life  of  man — and  their  own  pockets  also.  From  a  research 
into  the  way  of  heaven  Taoism  has  degenerated  into  a  hope- 
less mass  of  fantastic  superstitions,  of  haunted  men  and 
haunted  houses,  of  spells  and  curses,  charms  and  incantations, 
of  wizards  and  immortals,  witches  and  ghosts,  of  alchemy 
and  magic,  astrology  and  necromancy,  of  search  after  the 
drug  of  immortality  and  the  philosopher's  stone,  of  spiritual- 
ism and  devil  worship.  Some  disciples  it  may  still  have 
who,  under  the  awe  of  the  mysterious,  follow  in  the  footsteps 


256  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

of  their  Master,  and  strive  by  searching  to  find  out  the  nobler 
path ;  but  few  are  their  numbers  and  widely  are  they 
scattered. 

Considered  as  a  system  of  Philosophy,  Taoism  has  always 
held  much  that  is  good  within  its  circle,  and  even  its  magical 
school,  if  properly  guided,  might  long  ago  have  anticipated 
its  European  counter-type,  and  led  the  way  into  the  realms  of 
true  science  ;  might  have  changed  astrology  into  astronomy, 
and  alchemy  into  chemistry.  But,  considered  as  a  system 
of  supernaturalism,  voicing  the  superstitions,  ancient  and 
modern,  of  the  Chinese,  it  has  had  anything  but  a  healthy  in- 
fluence, either  upon  its  own  professors,  or  upon  the  Confucian 
and  Buddhist  cults.  Buddhism,  itself,  debased  before  it 
took  root  in  China,  introduced  idolatry  into  the  land,  and 
chiefly  under  the  influence  of  the  Taoists,  aU  three  religions 
have  multiplied  their  images  and  their  gods,  till  it  is  now 
impossible  to  call  their  number  or  tell  their  names,  or  to 
thread  the  mazes  of  their  genesis  or  their  domain.  Suffice 
it  that  the  gods  of  China  range  from  the  God  of  high  heaven 
to  the  goddess  of  the  cesspool. 

Ranked  as  a  heresy  and  theoretically  proscribed,  Taoism 
is  nevertheless  perhaps  the  most  influential  religion  in  the 
land,  its  roots  spreading  into  every  phase  of  the  nation's 
life.  Most  of  the  trade  guilds  have  a  Taoist  divinity 
for  their  patron,  very  many  of  the  Secret  Societies 
which  interpenetrate  the  myriad  towns  and  hamlets  are 
associated  with  it,  and  to  its  deceptions,  its  pretence  of 
spirit  possession,  its  preposterous  claim  for  a  magic  wand 
that  could  ward  off  bullets,  we  and  they  owe  the  awful 
calamities  of  the  fateful  year  1900. 

Taoism  has  had  three  principal  periods,  the  period  of  its 
founder,  Lao-tsz,  B.C.  500,  and  of  his  only  book,  the  Tao  Te 
Ching  ;  the  period  of  Chang  Tao  Ling,  a.d.  34,  and  his  heirs  ; 
and  the  period  of  Lii  Tung  Pin,  a.d.  755.  The  last  lived  in 
the  province  of  Shansi,  in  touch  with  the  Nestorian  Christians, 
and  probably  through  the  influence  of  Christianity,  he  sought 
to  lift  the  Taoists  out  of  the  search  for  the  elixir  of  immortality 
in  the  physical  kingdom,  into  the  search  for  it  in  the  "  moral 
and  spiritual "  realm. 

The  first  or  philosophical  period  then,  is  that  of  the  philo- 


NA  TIVE  RELIGIONS^  TA OISM  257 

sopher  Lao  himself,  of  whose  life  a  brief  sketch  has  akeady 
been  given.  Of  this  period  the  Tao  Te  Ching  is  the  chief 
text  book.     Here  is  a  sample  of  its  contents  : — 

"  There  was  something  chaotic  and  complete  before  the 
birth  of  heaven  and  earth.  How  still  it  was  and  formless, 
standing  alone,  and  undergoing  no  change ;  proceeding 
everywhere,  and  in  no  danger  of  being  exhausted  !  It  may 
be  regarded  as  the  mother  of  all  things.  I  do  not  know  its 
name,  but  designate  it  Tao ;  and  forcing  myself  to  frame  a 
name  for  it,  I  call  it  Great.  Great,  it  passes  on,  in  constant 
flux  ;  so  passing  on,  it  becomes  remote  ;  when  remote,  it 
comes  back.  Therefore  Tao  is  great ;  Heaven  is  great ; 
Earth  is  great ;  the  Sage  (king)  is  also  great.  In  the  circle 
there  are  four  that  are  great,  and  the  (Sage)  king  is  one  of 
them.  The  (sage)  man  has  for  his  law  the  earth  ;  the  earth 
has  heaven  for  its  law  ;  heaven  has  Tao  for  its  law  ;  and  the 
law  of  Tao  is  its  own  spontaneity." 

"  We  look  at  it  and  do  not  see  it :  it  is  named  the  colour- 
less. We  listen  for  it  and  do  not  hear  it  :  it  is  named  the 
soundless.  We  (try  to)  grasp  it,  and  do  not  get  hold  of  it :  it 
is  named  the  incorporeal.  With  these  three  qualities  it  cannot 
be  investigated  and  defined  ;  and  hence  we  blend  them 
together  and  form  a  unity.  Its  upper  part  is  not  bright ; 
its  lower  part  is  not  obscure.  Ceaseless  in  its  action,  it 
(yet)  cannot  be  named.  (Finally)  it  reverts,  and  again 
becomes  nothing.  This  is  what  is  called  the  form  of  the 
formless,  the  image  of  the  invisible.  This  is  what  is  called 
being  incapable  of  definition." 

As  Dr  Legge,  whose  translation  I  am  quoting,  says  : — 
"  Many  of  his  expressions  are  remarkable  and  tantalising. 
They  promise  to  conduct  us  to  the  brink  of  a  grand  prospect, 
and  then  there  is  before  us  but  a  sea  of  mist.  If  Lao-tsz 
found  it  thus  difficult  to  express  his  own  idea  of  Tao,  it  is 
not  to  be  marvelled  at  that  students  of  his  book,  nearly 
2500  years  after  him,  should  shrink  from  the  attempt  to 
define  it." 

Lao-tsz  teaches  the  importance  of  "  emptiness,  or  freedom 

from  pre-occupation  "  as  a  condition  of  receptivity.     This 

"  emptiness  "  means  freedom  from  "  selfish  motive  or  purpose 

centering  in  oneself."     For  it  is  "  the  empty  space  for  the 

R 


258  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

axle  "  on  which  the  use  of  the  carriage  wheel  depends,  and 
it  is  on  "  its  empty  hollo wness  that  the  use  of  a  clay  vessel 
depends."  Doors  and  windows  also  depend  for  their  useful- 
ness on  hollow  spaces,  just  as  a  room  depends  for  its  usefulness 
upon  its  emptiness.  Humility,  or  meekness,  has  a  distin- 
guished place  in  his  teaching.  He  deprecates  ambition,  self- 
assertion,  and  even  purposeful  effort,  urging  the  value  of 
quietness  and  freedom  from  desire.  Water  is  the  emblem 
of  Tao,  in  that  it  does  not  strive  against  natural  tendency, 
but  seeks  the  lowest  place,  "  which  all  men  dislike  "  :  more- 
over, though  supple  and  weak,  it  yet  overcomes  the  hard 
and  strong. 

He  had  "  three  precious  things  "  which  he  highly  prized. 
"  The  first  is  gentle  compassion  ;  the  second,  economy ;  the 
third  (humility),  not  presuming  to  take  precedence  in  the 
world.  With  gentle  compassion  I  can  be  brave.  With 
economy  I  can  be  liberal.  Not  presuming  to  claim  precedence 
in  the  world,  I  can  make  myself  a  vessel  fit  for  the  most 
distinguished  services.  Nowadays  they  give  up  gentle 
compassion,  and  cultivate  (mere  physical)  courage  ;  they 
give  up  economy,  and  are  lavish ;  they  give  up  being  last, 
and  seek  to  be  first : — of  all  which  the  end  is  death." 

But  Lao-tsz's  greatest  conception  was  that  of  returning 
good  for  evil.  The  way  of  Tao  is  "  not  to  act  from  any 
personal  motive  ;  to  conduct  affairs  without  worrying  ;  to 
account  the  great  as  small  and  the  small  as  great ;  to  recom- 
pence  injury  with  kindness." 

Doubt  has  been  expressed  whether  Lao-tsz  knew  anything 
of  a  personal  God,  or  whether  his  book  is  not  simply  a  Tao, 
or  "  Way  "  of  living.  But  his  Tao  seems  to  be  more  than 
this.  He  himself  says  of  it,  "  How  deep  it  is,  as  if  it  were 
the  author  of  all  things  !  "  And  again  later,  "  I  do  not 
know  whose  son  it  is.  It  might  appear  to  have  been  even 
before  Ti  (God)." 

Nevertheless,  and  judging  from  our  sole  guide,  the  Tao 
Te  Ching,  Laocius  never  had  the  remotest  idea  of  founding 
a  religion.  He  offers  no  object  of  worship,  prescribes  no 
mode  of  prayer  or  sacrifice,  indicates  no  ceremonial  forms ; 
indeed,  while  a  connection  between  the  divine  and  human 
seems  to  be  taken  for  granted,  the  whole  subject  of  man's 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— TAOISM  259 

personal  relationship  to  God  is  left  undefined.  In  his  out- 
look on  life  Laocius  has  more  in  common  with  a  man  like 
Tolstoi  than  with  Confucius  the  courtier.  A  vein  of  cynicism 
is  not  absent  from  his  famous  work,  and  a  spirit  of  Stoicism 
runs  throughout  its  meagre  pages.  How  it  ever  came  to 
form  the  basis  of  a  "  religion  "  at  all  is  difficult  to  imagine. 

As  Socrates  had  his  Plato,  and  Confucius  his  Mencius,  so 
had  Laocius  his  Chwang-tsz,  whose  works,  wherein  is  much 
that  is  satirical,  nevertheless  contain  many  gems  of  thought, 
of  which  the  following  taken  from  Mr  F.  H.  Balfour's  Chwang- 
tsz  may  be  cited  as  samples. 

"  The  wisdom  which  enables  a  man  to  understand  the  ways 
of  heaven  springs  from  heaven  itself."  "  The  wise  man 
draws  his  breath  from  his  heels,  while  the  vulgar  herd  breathe 
only  in  their  gullets,"  hence,  when  "  differences  of  opinion 
lead  to  brawling,  the  disputants  are  either  unable  to  speak 
from  choking,  or,  if  their  words  find  vent  it  is  as  if  they  were 
all  vomiting,"  from  which  it  is  evident  that  the  angry  China- 
man of  to-day  is  the  exact  counterpart  of  his  great-grand- 
father of  two  thousand  years  ago.  The  wisdom  of  the  wise 
man  is  described  as  "  Tranquil  amid  Provocation."  "  In 
the  face  of  opposition  and  abuse  it  still  proceeds  quietly  in 
the  accomplishment  of  its  designs." 

In  regard  to  the  existence  of  God  he  says,  "It  is  almost 
as  though  there  were  a  Supreme  Being  ;  but  the  first  cause 
of  all  things  is  far  beyond  our  reach.  That  there  is  one  from 
whom  I  derive  this  power  of  motion  I  believe,  but  I  have 
never  seen  his  form.  He  has  thoughts  and  feelings,  but  he 
has  no  shape."  Then  after  pondering  upon  the  constant 
preservation  of  his  wonderfully  organised  frame  he  bursts 
out,  "  Verily  there  is  One,  Supreme,  who  holds  all  this  to- 
gether." "  The  whole  of  existence  is  a  round  of  unceasing 
solicitude  ;  its  duties  are  never  finished  ;  all  is  weariness, 
anxiety,  and  fatigue ;  there  is  no  knowing  where  it  may 
all  terminate.  Alas !  is  not  this  enough  to  make  one 
weep?"  "But,"  he  proceeds,  "I  conform  to  the  teach- 
ings of  Him  who  had  the  guiding  of  my  heart.  Who, 
indeed,  is  there  without  such  a  guide  ?  Why  need  one 
understand  all  about  the  changes  and  revolutions  of  the 
world  ?     All  is  clear  to  the  heart  that  is  thus  taught,  and 


26o  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

even  the  simplest  and  most  ignorant  are  not  left  without 
instruction." 

When  dying,  his  last  injunctions  to  his  weeping  relatives 
were  to  leave  his  corpse  unburied,  "  I  will  have  heaven  and 
earth  for  my  sarcophagus,"  said  he,  "  the  sun  and  moon 
shall  be  the  insignia  where  I  lie  in  state,  and  all  creation 
shall  be  the  mourners  at  my  funeral."  His  friends  implored 
him  to  forego  this  request,  pointing  out  that  the  birds  would 
mutilate  his  corpse  ;  but  he  replied,  "  What  matters  that  ? 
Above  are  the  birds  of  the  air,  below  are  the  worms  and  ants  ; 
if  you  rob  one  to  feed  the  other,  what  injustice  is  there 
done  ?  " 

The  second  period,  the  debasement  of  Taoism,  dates  from 
the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era,  when  Chang  Tao  Ling 
arose.  He  is  said  to  have  been  born  in  this  province  of 
Chekiang.  Later,  his  fame  as  a  magician  spread  far  and 
wide,  reaching  the  capital,  to  which  two  successive  emperors 
vainly  invited  him.  Finally,  having  compounded  his  pill 
of  immortality,  he  is  reputed  to  have  sought  the  realms  of 
the  immortals  on  the  Dragon  and  Tiger  Mountain,  in  the 
province  of  Kiang-si,  and  on  that  mountain  his  descendants, 
real  or  assumed,  dwell  in  state  to  this  day,  as  Popes  of 
Taoism. 

Let  it  not  be  thought  that  Chang  introduced  new  ideas 
into  China.  He  simply  formed  into  some  sort  of  system 
immemorial  magical  practices  and  divinations,  and,  being 
himself  a  man  of  magnetic  power,  succeeded  in  founding 
a  school  which  was  destined  to  become  very  powerful  in  th6 
land.  From  a  stone  inscription  erected  by  the  Emperor 
Yung  Ching,  two  centuries  ago,  in  the  "  Temple  of  the  Great 
Pure  One  on  High,"  at  the  aforesaid  Dragon  and  Tiger  Hill, 
we  are  told  that  "  Chang  Tao  Ling,  Heaven's  Teacher  in 
the  Han  Dynasty,  who  sought  immortality  and  obtained 
the  way  of  life,  and  who  received  a  secret  revelation  from 
the  gods,  by  which  he  could  control  the  action  of  evil  spirits, 
and  transform  himself  like  the  immortals,  lived  123  years. 
His  descendants  have  inherited  his  secret  with  the  liturgies, 
charms,  seals,  and  sword,  which  they  (the  Popes  of  Taoism) 
from  age  to  age  transmit  to  their  successors,  and  make 
known  through  their  abbots  and  disciples." 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— TAOISM  261 

It  goes  on  to  say  that  this  Lung-hu  Shan  is  "  the  place 
where  Heaven's  Teacher  (the  Chief  of  Taoism)  conserves 
his  body,  and  practises  the  art  of  securing  immortahty, 
where  the  altar  to  the  origin  of  all  is,  and  where  the  pill  of 
immortality  is  manufactured."  It  further  says,  "  From  the 
Later  Han  Dynasty  till  now  (1500  years),  the  descendants 
of  Chang  Tao  Ling  continue  and  are  able  to  practise  his 
arts  ;  they  are  loyal  and  spread  his  doctrine  to  drive  away 
evil  spirits  and  avert  calamities,  and  because  of  their  special 
devotion,  they  are  able  to  comprehend  things  among  the 
dead,  and  know  all  about  good  and  evil  spirits." 

Of  the  third  period  of  Taoism,  that  of  Lii  Tung  Pin,  httle 
can  be  said,  save  that  his  teaching  (according  to  Dr  Timothy 
Richard),  bears  evidence  of  Christian  influence,  and  that 
it  restored,  for  a  number  of  the  thoughtful,  the  original 
search  after  Tao  and  immortality  in  the  region  of  the 
soul. 

Two  schools  of  hterature  are  found  in  this  cult,  the  mystical 
and  the  magical,  and  two  schools  of  disciples,  the  mystical 
numbering  the  few,  and  the  magical  numbering  the  many. 
Each  branch  of  the  canon,  following  the  Confucian  order  of 
classical  literature,  has  its  four  books,  and  five  canons,  for 
Taoism  hke  the  other  religions  in  China  is  wonderfully 
imitative,  and  has  lost  its  ancient  independence  and  origin- 
ality. The  Tao  Te  Ching  itself  ranks  of  course  in  the  mystical 
category. 

One  of  the  most  popular  of  Taoist  books  is  that  on  Rewards 
and  Punishments,  or  Merit  and  Demerit.  After  a  series  of 
exhortations  to  right  doing,  a  long  list  of  virtuous  and 
wicked  deeds  is  given,  with  the  number  of  good  or  bad  marks 
allowed  to  each,  and  at  the  end  of  the  book  a  blank  calendar 
is  exhibited,  in  which  the  disciple  is  urged  to  enter  up  his 
daily  account,  in  order  that  he  may  work  out  a  satisfactory 
montlily  balance  sheet.  Let  it  not  be  assumed  that  much 
attention  is  paid  to  this  account  book  ;  for  the  Chinese  are 
as  weak  as  other  mortals,  and  the  pursuit  of  account  book 
righteousness  is  always  of  brief  duration.  Here  are  a  few 
samples  drawn  from  the  book  itself  : — 
For  lending  a  lantern  on  a  dark  night  i  good  mark. 

For  giving  a  successful  dose  of  medicine  „ 


262  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

For  making  a  bridge,  mending  a  road, 
clearing  a  canal,  digging  a  well, — 
every  hundred  cash  gives  i  good  mark. 

For  saving  a  sick  man  30  good  marks. 

For  saving  a  life  100  good  marks. 

For    breaking    off    another's    marriage 

contract  100  bad  marks. 

For  destroying  an  infant  100  bad  marks. 

For  refusing  to  save  a  man's  life  50  bad  marks. 

For  heedlessly  casting  away  human  bones 

one  may  dig  up  50  bad  marks. 

There  are  about  five  hundred  such  headings,  some  sensible, 
some  childish,  but  it  is  possible  for  a  sincere  man,  by  following 
the  instructions  of  this  book,  to  order  his  ways  both  to  his 
own  and  his  neighbour's  welfare  ;  and  the  righteous  man 
rejoices  in  the  good  wherever  he  finds  it. 

As  to  the  superstitions  connected  with  modern  Taoism, 
a  whole  book  might  be  filled  with  an  account  thereof.  Three 
of  them,  however,  may  be  stated  briefly  ;  namely,  demon 
possession,  calling  back  a  lost  soul,  and  cursing. 

Demon  Possession, — The  extent  of  Chinese  belief  in  evil 
spirits  is  only  commensurate  with  the  depth  of  their  spiritual 
ignorance.  This  credulity  stands  patent  to  view  in  every 
street  and  alley.  Here,  for  instance,  is  erected  a  stone  block 
with  the  words,  "  Mount  T'ai  stone  dares  to  ward  off." 
This  Mount  T'ai,  or  Mount  Great,  is  in  Shantung,  and 
its  guardian  deity  is  supposed  to  have  power  over  the 
demons  wandering  in  the  air.  When  any  of  these 
"  powers  of  the  air  "  come  across  a  T'ai-shan  stone,  they 
immediately  turn  aside  awe-struck  ;  hence,  by  a  series  of 
such  stones,  they  may  be  conducted  quite  out  of  a  village 
or  town. 

The  ancient  Fa-kwa,  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
the  divining  octagon  of  sixty-four  whole  and  divided  strokes, 
is  also  frequently  seen,  and  as  in  its  mazes  poor  demons 
are  supposed  to  lose  themselves  easily,  the  very  sight  of  it 
frightens  them  away.  A  few  years  ago,  when  our  old  hospital 
was  built,  a  small  street  was  widened  to  make  the  approach 
easier.  Immediately,  a  military  mandarin,  the  blank  wall 
of  whose  yamen  stands  opposite,  caused  a  Pa-kwa  to  be 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— TAOISM  263 

erected  on  the  top  of  that  wall,  in  order  to  ward  off  any  evil 
spirits  that  might  wander  down  this  lane. 

Almost  every  house  has  its  door  charm  to  protect  it  from 
the  aggressive  demon.  Either  large  sized  figures  of  the  gate 
gods  are  painted  on  the  gates,  or,  at  certain  times  of  the  year, 
swords  made  of  the  blade  of  a  flag-plant  are  affixed,  and  always 
there  is  a  fantastic  character  written  on  red  paper  and  pasted 
on  the  door,  to  keep  away  the  demons.  Sometimes  every 
door  in  the  house  has  this  red  paper  charm  affixed,  and  even 
that  more  enlightened  part  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
which  is  manned  by  Frenchmen  has  provided  similar  red 
paper  Catholic  charms  for  the  doors  of  its  people.  The 
rooms  have  their  charms,  the  bed  has  its  charm,  hosts  of 
the  people  carry  charms  on  their  persons,  and  very  few 
children  are  without  them,  either  in  the  shape  of  an 
earring,  a  silver  collar  round  the  neck,  or  a  silver  deity  in 
the  cap. 

Sometimes  up  country  one  sees  the  babies  with  a  red 
imperial  almanac  stuck  in  their  girdles,  to  warn  off  the  demons 
which  come  prowling  after  their  little  lives.  One  village,  a 
few  years  ago,  after  hearing  a  native  Bible  Colporteur  extol 
his  wares,  almost  cleared  out  his  stock,  and  hung  the  Word 
of  Life  on  its  beds,  in  its  rooms,  and  even  on  its  babies,  as 
a  charm  against  the  foes  it  so  dreaded.  Such  is  the  state 
of  FEAR  in  which  the  people  live.  They  fear  by  day  and 
they  fear  by  night.  With  men  they  can  be  bold  enough, 
but  what  are  they  to  do  with  intangible  demons  in  the  dark- 
ness of  the  night  ? 

A  fortnight  ago  my  daughter  came  home  in  much  distress. 
She  had  seen  a  man  lying  senseless  on  the  street  in  a  pool  of 
blood,  and  all  alone.  In  vain  had  she  urged  her  chairmen  to 
stop  to  let  her  help  the  poor  fellow,  but  they  fled  incontinently 
past  with  her.  On  inquiring  what  was  the  cause,  I  was 
informed  that  he  had  been  struck  down  by  a  "  sah,"  or 
murderous  demon,  which  of  course  accounted  for  no  one 
daring  to  approach  him,  lest  the  demon  should  find  further 
exercise  for  its  bloodthirsty  proclivities.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  the  poor  man  had  probably  ruptured  an  artery  and  was 
helplessly  bleeding  to  death.  It  is  this  same  fear,  rather 
than   callousness,    that   sometimes   hinders    a   native   from 


264  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

saving  the  drowning  or  others  who  are  in  danger,  for  the  dis- 
appointed demon  may  wreak  his  vengeance  on  the  would-be 
saviour. 

The  demons  take  many  and  varied  forms.  There  is  the 
demon  that  comes  in  shape  of  a  fox,  another  that  comes  as 
a  monkey,  another  as  a  white  cock,  still  others  as  a  dog,  a 
cat,  a  fish,  a  snake.  These  demons  take  possession  of  the 
individual,  and  in  some  cases  are  said  to  change  his  nature 
into  that  of  a  fox,  a  monkey,  a  cock,  as  the  ceise  may  be. 
Moreover,  the  possession  is  "  catching,"  hence  the  neighbours 
dread  it,  for  the  demon  may  pass  from  house  to  house,  or 
rather  the  demons  are  supposed  to  follow  each  other  and 
collect  in  companies,  when  their  name  verily  becomes 
legion. 

Last  Monday,  at  one  of  our  circuit  meetings,  a  local  preacher 
was  called  upon  to  account  for  apparent  neglect  of  an  appoint- 
ment. His  reply,  supported  by  the  leader  of  the  church  in 
question  was,  that  in  this  particular  village  they  were  having 
a  three  days'  propitiation  of  the  "  Monkey,"  and  no  one  was 
allowed  on  any  account  whatever  to  enter  or  leave  the  village, 
every  avenue  of  which  was  carefully  guarded,  so  that  on  the 
preacher  presenting  himself  he  was  promptly  turned  away. 

I  remember  also  an  old  man,  at  a  vUlage  on  the  hOl  tops, 
once  whispering  to  me  in  awe-struck  tones,  "  It  comes  over 
the  pass  there  !  I  have  heard  it  come  bark,  bark,  barking 
at  night,  and  I  always  knew  that  trouble  would  soon 
follow." 

With  its  arrival,  whether  it  be  fox,  or  monkey,  or  cock,  or 
what,  sorrow  also  comes  to  the  household.  The  family  pig, 
which  was  being  fed  to  pay  the  "  rint,"  or  for  the  New 
Year's  festivities,  must  be  killed  and  offered  to  the  demon, 
or  to  some  idol  to  induce  its  powerful  influence  with  the 
disturber.  The  Taoist  priests,  lay  or  cleric, — there  are  both 
kinds, — are  called  in,  for  they  know  best  what  temples  must 
be  visited  and  what  offerings  made.  When  the  famOy  pig 
does  not  satisfy,  another  must  be  brought  and  killed,  and 
another  and  another,  until  often  the  poor  man's  bit  of  land 
is  mortgaged,  his  house  sold  and  his  clothes  pawned  to  satisfy 
this  awful  creature  that  has  honoured  him  with  its  hateful 
presence.    And  when  at  last  it  does  take  itself  off,  may  be 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— TAOISM  265 

it  takes  with  it  also  the  soul  of  the  afflicted  individual. 
Many  are  the  families  who  are  annually  stripped  of  all  their 
other  possessions  by  this  one  unwelcome  possession.  Friends 
and  neighbours  avoid  them,  lest  they  too  carry  away  a  demon 
to  their  homes,  just  also  as  no  one  dare  take  in  a  person  who 
has  been  burnt  out  by  fire  till  three  days  have  passed,  lest 
the  fire  demon  follow  the  doomed  person. 

It  is  here,  however,  that  our  Christians  are  strong  and 
fearless.  Christ  has  taken  away  their  terror,  and  they  are 
willing  to  go  and  pray  and  spend  the  night  with  the  possessed, 
even  sleeping  in  the  same  room,  and  more  daring  still,  in 
the  same  bed.  For  what  is  a  disturbed  night  if  the  devil 
can  be  robbed  of  his  prey  and  driven  from  the  soul  he  is 
tormenting  !  Moreover  their  faith  prevails  mightily.  Many 
of  the  possessed  recover  immediately,  and  when  once  the 
whole  family  has  been  induced  to  clear  out  its  family  gods, 
and  kneel  with  the  Christians  in  prayer,  it  is  rare  for  the 
possessed  person  not  to  recover.  Some  of  the  most  violent 
most  readily  yield,  but  when  there  is  resistance,  the  Christians 
have  at  times  recourse  even  to  fasting  as  well  as  prayer. 

Another  form  of  superstition  is  that  a  demon  may  obtain 
possession  of  the  rational  soul  of  a  person,  and  carry  it  off 
to  its  lair.  The  sufferer  lies  in  bed,  feverish  and  delirious. 
He  has  been  dosed  in  vain.  What  can  be  the  matter  ? 
"  This  is  a  disease  in  which  you  must  not  economise.  You 
must  spend,"  say  the  friends,  relatives,  and  neighbours, 
especially  the  neighbours,  and  by  spend  they  mean  call 
in  the  specialists,  the  Taoist  priest,  or  the  spiritualistic 
medium. 

It  is  a  case  of  a  Lost  Soul.  Where  can  it  be  ?  The  gods 
must  be  inquired  of.  How  can  this  be  done  ?  A  dream 
might  be  helpful ;  the  god  of  dreams,  if  he  could  be  aroused, 
would  probably  grant  both  a  dream  and  its  interpretation  ; 
but  for  that  one  cannot  wait.  A  sacrifice  before  the  gods, 
to  be  followed  by  a  divination  in  their  presence  with  the 
aid  of  bamboo  tallies,  or  of  the  planchette  for  spirit-writing 
in  the  smoothed-out  sand, — yes,  try  that,  or  better  still 
find  a  medium.  There  is  so-and-so,  let  us  go  there.  They 
go  with  the  medium  before  some  god,  the  medium  pretends 
to  go  off  into  a  trance,  giving  utterance  to  weird-sounds. 


266  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

supposed  to  be  the  words  of  the  god,  which  his  interpreter 
interprets.  Or,  take  the  case  of  a  female  medium,  my 
next-door  neighbour.  She  sits  near  her  shrine,  and  simu- 
lates possession  by  two  goddesses  at  one  and  the  same  time, 
who  hold  a  sing-song  consultation  through  her  lips,  the  one 
in  a  contralto,  the  other  in  a  falsetto  voice.  Falsetto,  yes, 
falsetissimo  !  The  whole  system  is  false,  false  from  base  to 
summit.  If  ever  a  nation  on  earth  unconsciously  wailed 
aloud  for  the  truthful  Christ,  and  stretched  out  yearning 
hands  towards  Him,  that  nation  is  China. 

Where,  then,  is  the  "  lost  soul "  to  be  found  ?  "  It  is 
here  now,"  the  medium  says,  "  the  god,  or  goddess,  had  found 
it  and  brought  it  back."  Or,  it  is  somewhere  else,  say  in 
the  Cave  of  the  Rosy  Mist,  at  the  Taoist  Temple  outside  the 
south  gate.  Send  two  women  of  the  family,  let  them  take 
the  sick  man's  jacket,  make  offerings  before  the  gods  there, 
and  call  for  the  spirit  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave.  They  go  ; 
the  rift  in  the  rocks  behind  the  temple  is  reached,  though 
one  may  look  long  and  in  vain,  through  the  guttering  candles 
and  smoking  incense,  for  the  "  rosy  mist "  from  which  the 
place  takes  its  charming  name.  Loudly  and  earnestly  they 
cry  the  man's  name,  "  Ah  Ming  !  Ah  Ming  !  Come  home, 
come  home  !  "  His  coat  is  opened  wide  and  spread  before 
the  riven  rock.  Soon  it  is  quickly  folded  up,  wrapped  under 
the  outer  garment  of  one  of  the  women,  an  umbrella  is 
expanded,  rain  or  fine,  and  now  begins  the  homeward  journey. 
"  Walk  well,"  says  the  companion.  "  Ow "  (All  right), 
replies  the  one  with  the  soul.  "  Here  cross  bridge."  "  Ow." 
"  Walk  well !  "  "  Ow."  "  Turn  this  corner  !  "  "  Ow." 
Thus  they  keep  up  a  talk  the  whole  way,  to  comfort  the  soul 
in  the  jacket,  until  the  room  of  the  sick  man  is  reached. 
The  coat  is  now  produced,  thrown  hastily  over  the  patient, 
the  curtains  fall  around  the  bed,  the  doors  are  closed,  the 
soul  returns  to  its  body  again, — or  perhaps  does  not,  when 
some  other  superstition  must  be  obeyed.  "  Ye  shall  know 
the  Truth,  and  the  Truth  shall  make  you  Free." 

One  of  the  most  impressive  sights  I  ever  saw  in  my  life 
was  the  escorting  from  Wenchow  city  three  years  ago  of 
the  cholera  demons.  It  was  estimated  that  twenty  thousand 
people  had  died  in  the  county  from  this  terrible  epidemic,  and 


ONE  OF  THE  CYCLE  GODS 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— TAOISM  267 

at  last, — when  the  epidemic  was  already  dying, — a  date  was 
fixed  for  escorting  away  with  great  ^clat  the  unwelcome 
visitors.  For  many  nights  beforehand,  processions  wended 
their  noisy,  lantern-lit  way,  through  every  street  of  the  city 
and  its  suburbs,  as  well  as  along  the  great  city  wall.  Torches 
flared  and  lanterns  twinkled  everywhere,  the  city  being  lit 
up  as  if  for  a  fete.  The  demons  were  fed  and  appeased  in 
every  lane,  while  their  boat  was  in  course  of  preparation. 
The  boat  itself  was  made,  not  of  stout  timbers,  but,  for  the 
most  part,  of  paper  ;  demons,  however,  are  such  fools  that 
they  cannot  tell  the  difference  between  a  seaworthy  and  a 
leaky  paste-and-paper  article.  Day  by  day,  the  temple 
where  the  boat  was  lodged,  was  thronged  by  a  host  of  wor- 
shippers, who  filled  the  boat  with  their  silver  offerings, — 
mock  silver,  of  course,  for  the  Chinaman  is  thrifty  and 
demons  are  easily  gulled.  Such  a  tempting  supply  !  Such 
an  abundance  !  How  could  any  decent  devil  refuse  them  ? 
The  great  night  came,  and  here  is  what  I  saw,  an  account  of 
which  I  published  at  the  time  : — 

"  All  the  influential  deities  of  the  neighbourhood  were 
assembled  in  great  style,  at  the  temple  of  the  God  of  the 
Eastern  Peak,^  and  after  the  reciting  of  many  prayers,  if 
such  be  not  a  prostituting  of  the  word,  and  the  blazing  away 
of  countless  crackers,  the  whole  pantheon  set  off  late  at 
night  to  escort  the  visiting  demons  and  their  boat  to  the 
river. 

"  It  was  a  weird  scene.  The  accompanying  crowd  of 
human  escorts  numbered  between  five  and  ten  thousand, 
each  man — they  were  all  men,  and  nearly  all  of  them  young 
men — carrying  either  a  lantern  at  the  end  of  a  long  strip  of 
bamboo,  or  a  blazing  torch.  We  have  seen  processions 
before,  but  never  so  elaborate  as  on  this  occasion.  Instead 
of  travelling  at  the  usual  slow  processional  pace,  the  whole 
mass  ran  as  fast  as  our  narrow  streets  permitted,  every  man 
shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice.  Anyone  who  has  had  to 
face,  or  flee  from  a  howling  crowd  of  this  kind,  knows  the 
thrill  it  inspires.  On  reaching  the  river  bank  the  paper 
junk  was  speedily  launched,  a  boatman  with  more   pluck 

*  The  Guardian  of  Hades,  strictly  speaking  a  State  and  not  a  Taoist 
divinity. 


268  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

or  less  love  of  life  than  his  fellows  being  in  readiness  to  tow 
it  down  the  river,  where  the  spirits  were  soon  sent  some- 
where else  enwrapped  in  flames.  Immediately  the  escort 
had  passed  out  of  the  city  the  gate  was  closed,  and  no  sooner 
was  the  paper  junk  launched  than  all  lamps  were  hastily 
extinguished  and  everybody  sneaked  quickly  and  quietly 
home  into  the  city  by  another  gate,  so  that  the  spirits  might 
lose  their  bearings,  and  not  be  able  to  find  the  way  back 
again.  How  clever  the  Chinese  are  !  And  what  fools  the 
spirits !  The  Chinese  very  evidently  think  themselves 
cleverer  than  either  the  gods  or  the  devils  whom  they  worship, 
which  makes  one  wonder  why  they  worship  them. 

"  In  this  particular  district  it  is  the  custom  to  teU  the 
demons  that  Wenchow  is  a  very  poor  place,  but  that  there  is 
a  city  called  Yangchow  where  the  people  are  rich,  the  houses 
fine,  the  women  beautiful,  and  everything  much  superior 
to  what  it  is  here.  At  the  city  of  Ch'u  Chow,  up  the  Wenchow 
river,  the  demons  on  occasions  like  the  present  are  always 
told  that  Wenchow  is  a  better  place  than  Ch'u  Chow.  Thus 
the  people  pass  on  the  demons  one  to  another.  All  which 
seems  somewhat  to  differ  from  the  teaching  of  'the  Master,' 
'What  you  do  not  want  yourself,  do  not  pass  on  to  others  !  '  " 

The  Taoist  priest,  chiefly  the  lay  priest,  has  a  wide  sphere 
of  usefulness  in  checking  petty  theft.  Have  you  had  your 
cabbages  or  potatoes  dug  up  ?  Then  curse  the  thief,  curse 
him  loudly  and  in  the  open,  strain  your  throat  to  breaking- 
point,  curse  him  in  his  bed  and  at  his  board,  curse  him  on 
the  road  and  on  the  water,  curse  him  in  every  feature  and 
detail  of  his  daily  life,  curse  his  parents  and  grandparents, 
curse  his  children  and  grandchildren,  curse,  curse,  curse, 
chant  away,  in  your  most  strident  tones,  till  you  are  hoarse, 
and  sore,  and  weary.  What  is  his  life  and  welfare,  and  that 
of  his  ancestry  before  and  posterity  after  him  in  comparison 
with  your  hatful  of  potatoes,  or  armful  of  cabbage  ?  Does 
he  dare  to  come  again,  then  hire  the  priest  to  curse  him. 
Erect  a  three-sided  scaffold,  let  the  priest  climb  up  the 
ladder-like  steps  you  have  strapped  on  with  straw  rope,  and 
let  him  solemnly  say  his  incantation,  and  chant  his  curses, 
till  the  man  shall  either  miserably  perish,  or  cease  taking 
your  twopenny  worth  of  greens. 


NATIVE  RELIGIONS— TAOISM  269 

Or,  instead  of  the  priest,  buy  a  picture  of  a  human  body ; 
it  is  cheaper.  Seek  also  a  few  old  nails.  Post  the  picture 
up  at  your  door,  and  daily  stand  before  it,  and  say  your 
daily  prayer  by  driving  a  daily  nail,  to-day  into  his  left  eye, 
to-morrow  into  his  right,  next  day  into  his  liver,  then  into 
his  lungs,  then  into  his — well,  into  his  everj^vhere,  and 
accompany  each  naU  with  a  deadly  curse.  What  is  his 
life  to  your  half-dollar  pair  of  shoes  ?  Perhaps  your  ear- 
nestness may  even  induce  him  to  throw  them  back  to  you 
over  the  wall  at  night. 

Taoism  sells  both  its  curses  and  its  blessings  cheaply.  A 
few  cash  will  procure  a  flag  to  put  into  your  fields,  ensuring 
protection  from  insect  ravages  and  bad  weather,  and  making 
certain  a  good  crop.  True  the  flag  does  not  always  answer, 
but  the  cost  is  small,  and  one  may  as  well  be  on  the  safe  side  ! 
Are  you  going  a  journey,  or  entering  into  a  business  trans- 
action ?  Vow  some  candles,  or  undertake  to  walk  in  the 
god's  next  procession  in  chains,  with  dishevelled  hair,  and 
with  the  word  "  criminal "  writ  large  on  your  back,  and  all 
will  be  well.  Has  your  wife  failed  to  present  you  with  the 
desire  of  your  life,  a  son  to  provide  for  your  old  age,  and  to 
serve  your  manes  after  death  ?  Let  her  vow  a  baby's  bib 
and  tucker  to  one  goddess,  a  pair  of  shoes  to  another,  a 
testimonial  plaque  to  another,  and  see  if  she  does  not  soon 
present  you  \\dth  twins  !  Last  Sunday  I  was  told  of  a  youth 
who  was  bom  (her  first  son)  when  his  mother  was  forty-nine 
years  of  age.  And  my  fair  informant  assured  me  that  he 
had  been  "  ngae  djao  djao  li-ge,"  simply  importuned  into 
existence,  the  gods  having  been  compelled  to  yield  to  the 
mother's  prayers. 

In  brief,  then,  Taoism  has  two  schools  within  it,  the  esoteric 
or  philosophical,  and  the  ignoble  and  superstitious.  Its 
"  priests  "  are  of  two  orders,  cleric  and  lay.  The  cleric  is 
celibate,  though  the  "  Pope  "  himself  is  said  to  be  plentifully 
married  ;  as  to  the  lay  priest  he  takes  a  wife  or  not  at  will. 
The  cleric  wears  the  top-knot  worn  for  thousands  of  years 
by  the  Chinese,  until  the  present  dynasty  compulsorily 
introduced  the  pigtail.  The  lay  priest  dresses  hke  an  ordinary 
citizen,  queue  and  all.  The  cleric  lives  on  the  temple  endow- 
ments, and  on  services  rendered  to  the  living  and  the  dead. 


270  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

The  laymen  gets  what  he  can  by  chanting  and  cursing,  and, 
by  the  help  of  the  devil,  manages  to  make  a  living  wage. 
Time,  paper,  and  patience  utterly  fail  to  describe  the 
degradation  into  which  the  lower  forms  of  Tao  have  fallen, 
but  the  nobler  part  of  it  still  stretches  up  groping  hands 
towards  the  silent  heavens,  and  seeks  to  know,  though  in  its 
own  blind  way,  "  the  secret  of  God." 


XVIII 

THE  FOREIGN  RELIGIONS:  BUDDHA, 
MAHOMET 

"  Oh  wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body 
of  this  death." 

Buddha,  "  the  Light  of  Asia  !  "  What  a  fascinating  subject ! 
What  an  alluring  history  !  Though  surrounded  by  extrava- 
gant legend,  and  wearing  a  garb  of  fantastic  grotesqueness 
puerile  to  the  Western  mind,  yet  let  fact  but  be  winnowed 
from  myth,  and  the  story  of  Guatama,  of  his  disciples,  and 
of  the  conversion  of  the  Orient  cannot  fail  to  enchain  the 
attention  of  the  thoughtful. 

Let  us  try  to  picture  him, — Shakyamuni  Guatama,  son 
of  a  small,  though  royal  house,  surrounded  by  the  luxury 
of  his  age,  a  member  of  the  noblest  caste,  a  Brahman  of  the 
Brahmins,  and  a  worshipper  at  many  shrines.  It  is  2500 
years  since,  but  already  Brahminism  has  put  the  Creator 
far  away,  and  worships  a  host  of  inferior  deities.  Already 
"  caste "  has  destroyed  fraternity,  and  built  impassable 
barriers  between  man  and  man.  The  weary  people  groan 
under  a  burden  of  religious  exigencies  which  confer  no  comfort, 
and  bestow  no  hope.  Disease,  suffering,  death  are  man's 
heritage,  and  after  death — what  ?  A  ceaseless  round  of 
births  and  re-births,  of  incarnations  as  man  or  beast,  of 
reappearances  as  a  worm  to  be  trodden  under  foot,  as  grass 
for  the  oven,  or  as  an  ear  of  corn  for  the  belly  of  man  or  beast. 
What  hope  is  there  for  man  ?  Even  suicide  only  leads  to 
greater  woe.  Weariness,  now  and  hereafter,  hopelessness 
everywhere,  no  pitying  eye  above,  no  hope  of  deliverance 
beneath,  who  shall  deliver  us,  from  body  and  from  soul, 
unto  sleep  that  shall  be  profound,  undisturbed,  endless  ? 

27  z 


272  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

Such  were  the  thoughts  that  came  to  Guatama,  as  they 
had  come  to  many  before  him.  Burdened  with  the  weari- 
ness of  mankind,  and,  according  to  the  legend,  meeting  in 
succession  with  "  a  miserable  decrepit  old  man,  a  young 
man  writhing  in  the  agonies  of  disease,  a  dead  corpse,  and 
— by  way  of  contrast — a  serene-looking  hermit,"  Guatama 
fled  from  his  home,  and  sought  enlightenment  in  the  society 
of  other  recluses,  who,  before  him,  had  fled  the  depravity 
and  hopelessness  of  the  age.  These  also  failed  him,  and 
finally  leaving  the  haunts  even  of  hermits,  he  sought  the 
isolation  of  the  mountains. 

Here,  pondering  alone  the  problems  that  men  still  ponder, 
— Whence  ?  How  ?  Whither  ? — he  found  no  hopeful 
answer,  and  fashioned  his  beliefless  creed.  Forsaking  the 
gods  of  his  fathers,  ignoring  even  Brahma  himself,  throwing 
"  caste  "  to  the  winds,  he  set  forth  to  teach  men  the  way 
of  escape. 

Pondering  over  the  whence,  how,  and  whither  of  creation, 
he  found  nothing  new  to  add  to  the  notions  already  existing. 
These  ideas,  which  dimly  foreshadowed  the  modern  view 
of  evolution,  he  accepted  as  he  found  them.  Whence  came 
the  world  and  universe  ?  From  a  previous  universe.  How 
came  it  ?  By  a  process,  first  of  destruction,  then  of  evolution. 
Whither  goes  it  ?  To  destruction,  and  re-creation,  and  so 
on  forever  without  end.  Whence  comes  man  ?  From  the 
animal.  How  ?  By  the  process,  first  of  death,  then  of 
re-birth.  Whither  goes  he  ?  To  death  and  endless  re- 
incarnation, as  worm,  beast,  bird  or  man.  What  then  is 
the  highest  good,  if  there  be  any  highest  good  at  all  ?  Nir- 
vana, cessation  of  sensation,  unconsciousness  of  all  diversion, 
perhaps  annihilation  itself.  How  is  this  blissful  state  to 
be  reached  ?  By  austere  morality,  rigid  self-discipline, 
compassion  to  all  living  things,  complete  withdrawal  from 
the  world. 

Such  is  the  gospel  of  Buddha,  a  gospel  without  God,  and 
whose  only  hope  lies  in  the  cessation  of  consciousness. 

With  his  simple  robe  and  his  mendicant's  bowl,  he,  the  son  of 
princes,  begged  the  meagre  fare  his  body  demanded,  meditat- 
ing meanwhile,  preaching  to  his  disciples,  and  expounding  to 
those  who  sought  him  his  doctrine  of  the  vanity  of  all  things, 


FOREIGN  RELIGIONS— BUDDHA         273 

together  with  the  way  of  escape,  through  self-discipline,  from 
the  unceasing  round  of  living  and  d5dng.  "  All  existence 
necessarily  involves  pain  and  suffering.  All  suffering  is 
caused  by  lust,  or  craving,  or  desire,  of  three  kinds — for 
sensual  pleasure,  for  wealth,  and  for  existence.  Cessation 
of  suffering  is  simultaneous  with  extinction  of  lust,  craving 
and  desire.  Extinction  of  lust,  craving  and  desire,  and 
cessation  of  suffering  are  accomplished  by  perseverance 
in  the  eight-fold  noble  path,  viz.,  right  belief  or  views, 
right  resolve,  right  speech,  right  work,  right  Hvelihood, 
right  exercise  or  training,  right  mindfulness,  right  mental 
concentration." 

Disciples  followed  him,  and  adopted  the  garb  and  bowl,  the 
bowl  which  to  this  day  may  be  seen  in  the  streets  of  China, 
held  by  some  silent  mendicant  monk,  whose  only  appeal  for 
aid  is  his  bowl  and  his  thrice-tapped  bell.  And  here  is  the 
summary  of  a  monk's  duties,  els  expounded  by  Guatama  when 
he  felt  his  end  approaching  : — "  Which  then,  0  monks,  are  the 
truths  (the  seven  jewels)  it  behoves  you  to  spread  abroad,  out 
of  pity  for  the  world,  for  the  good  of  gods  and  men  ?  They 
are,  first,  the  four  earnest  reflections  (on  the  impurities  of  the 
body,  on  the  impermanence  of  the  sensations,  of  the  thoughts, 
of  the  conditions  of  existence)  ;  2.  the  four  right  exertions 
(to  prevent  demerit  from  arising,  get  rid  of  it  when  arisen,  pro- 
duce merit,  increase  it)  ;  3.  the  four  paths  to  supernatural 
power  (will,  effort,  thought,  intense  thought)  ;  4.  the  five 
forces  (faith,  energy,  recollection,  self-concentration,  reason)  ; 
5.  the  proper  use  of  the  five  organs  of  sense ;  6.  the  seven 
'limbs'  of  knowledge  (recollection,  investigation,  energy,  joy, 
serenity,  concentration  of  mind,  equanimity)  ;  7.  the  noble 
eightfold  path." 

A  very  different  prograrmne  from  the  programme  of  Chris- 
tianity, but  the  times  were  ripe  for  reformation,  and  even  this 
unattractive  attempt  met  with  success.  Self-discipline  and 
compsission  have  always  appealed  to  the  Orient,  perhaps 
because  they  are  so  very  much  needed.  The  brotherhood  of 
man  was  attractive  to  some  of  high  and  many  of  low  caste. 
The  hope  of  avoiding  lower  forms  of  transmigration  and  being 
reborn  as  a  man,  perhaps  as  a  Buddha  (a  seer),  was  in  itself  a 
heaven  in  comparison  with  the  hell  which  all  expected  to  pass 
S 


274  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

through  after  death.  There  was  after  all  much  to  attract  in 
Buddha's  gospel ;  certainly  it  surpassed  the  Brahminism  of 
his  day,  and  his  following  had  natural  increase. 

Nevertheless  Shakyamuni  died  long  before  his  philosophy 
met  with  wide  acceptance.  As  to  his  Society,  the  rule  that  all 
its  members  must  leave  the  world  and  subsist  by  the  mendi- 
cant's bowl,  in  the  very  nature  of  things  soon  required 
modification,  for  despite  men's  efforts  both  in  ancient  and 
modern  times,  a  church  must  consist  of  something  more  than 
its  clergy.  In  Buddhism,  however,  the  only  hope  of  Nirvana 
still  lay  enfolded  in  the  monk's  robe. 

Differing  widely  from  the  teaching  of  our  Blessed  Lord,  at 
first  no  woman  shared  the  privileges  of  Buddha's  ministry. 
Of  lower  grade  than  man,  her  "  highest  aspiration  should  be  to 
be  reborn  as  a  man."  The  Buddha,  however,  yielded  to  his 
disciple  Ananda's  wishes  and  later  admitted  woman  to  an 
inferior  share  in  his  religion,  but  the  real  Buddhist  elevation 
of  woman  dates  from  a  much  later  period.  Not  until  the 
doctrine  of  the  Madonna,  the  Compassionate  Mother,  had 
penetrated  to  the  East,  was  the  Goddess  of  Mercy  changed 
from  male  to  female  form,  and  she  to-day  is  the  most  common 
object  of  worship  among  the  Buddhists  of  China. 

For  two  centuries  after  the  death  of  Gautama  his  religion 
was  confined  to  the  countries  bordering  on  the  Ganges.  Then 
came  the  invasion  of  India  by  Alexander  the  Great,  and  "  out 
of  the  political  anarchy  into  which  the  whole  conglomeration 
of  Indian  kingdoms  was  thrown,  arose  an  Empire  which  soon 
swallowed  up  all  the  others."  "  It  was  founded  by  an  ad- 
venturer of  low  birth,  called  Tchandragupta  by  the  Buddhists, 
and  Sandrakottos  by  the  Greek  historians.  Despised  on 
account  of  his  low  birth  by  Brahmins,  he  hated  them 
in  return  and  began  to  patronise  the  rising  Buddhist 
Church." 

His  grandson  Ashoka,  who  "  united  nearly  the  whole  of 
India  under  his  sceptre,  became  the  Constantine  of  Indian 
Buddhism."  Not  content  with  being  a  mere  passive  adherent 
he  established  "  a  board  for  foreign  Missions,  which  sent  forth 
to  all  surrounding  countries  enthusiastic  preachers,  who  went 
out,  in  self-chosen  poverty,  clad  in  rags,  with  the  almsbowl  in 
their  hands,  but  supported  by  the  whole  weight  of  Ashoka's 


FOREIGN  RELIGIONS— BUDDHA         275 

political  and  diplomatic  influence.  His  own  son,  Mahandra, 
went  out  as  a  missionary  to  Ceylon,  and  the  whole  island 
forthwith  embraced  the  faith  of  Buddha." 

"  At  the  same  time  Cabulistan,  Gandhara,  Cashmere 
and  Nepaul  were  brought  under  the  influence  of  Buddhism, 
and  thenceforth  every  caravan  of  traders  that  left 
India  for  Central  Asia,  was  accompanied  by  Buddhist 
missionaries. 

"  In  this  way  it  happened,  that  as  early  as  250  B.C.  a  number 
of  eighteen  Buddhist  emissaries  reached  China,  where  they  are 
held  in  remembrance  to  the  present  day,  their  images  occupy- 
ing a  conspicuous  place  in  every  large  temple." 

After  the  death  of  Ashoka,  his  empire  fell  to  pieces,  where- 
upon a  terrible  persecution  broke  out,  in  which  most  of  the 
missionaries  and  pagodas  were  destroyed,  and  the  death-blow 
given  to  Buddhism  in  India.  "  But  this  very  persecution 
gave  a  renewed  impetus  to  the  foreign  Missions  of  the  Bud- 
dhists, who  now  pushed  their  way  through  the  whole  of  Central 
Asia,  and  gained  a  lasting  foothold  among  the  Tartar  tribes, 
which  were  just  then  in  great  commotion."  One  branch 
of  the  Tartars  invaded  and  conquered  the  major  part  of 
India,  and  their  greatest  king,  Kanishka,  a  contemporary 
of  Christ,  patronised  Buddhism  as  liberally  as  Ashoka  had 
done. 

Buddhism,  however,  never  regained  its  hold  in  India,  where 
to-day  it  scarcely  has  existence,  and  that  only  in  mutilated 
form.  It  lost  a  smaller  empire,  to  gain  a  greater  ;  for,  in  due 
course,  it  took  possession  of  China,  Japan,  Mongolia,  Man- 
churia, Burmah,  Ceylon,  Annam  and  Siam.  It  has  tamed 
savage  tribes,  tempered  the  cruelty  of  the  semi-civilised,  and 
prepared  the  way  for  an  enlightenment  of  greater  clarity  and 
power. 

The  eighteen  missionaries,  who  first  reached  the  borders  of 
China,  produced  at  the  time  little  if  any  impression  on  the 
country.  Intercourse,  peaceful  and  warlike,  was,  however, 
perpetually  maintained  between  the  two  countries,  for  the 
stupendous  heights  and  vast  abysses  of  the  Himalayas,  as  well 
as  the  Arid  deserts  of  Central  Asia  have  ever  failed  to  act  as 
impassable  barriers.  In  B.C.  121,  a  golden  statue  of  Buddha 
formed  part  of  the  spoils  taken  in  campaign  by  the  Chinese, 


276  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

giving  evidence  that  already  the  atheism  of  Buddha  had 
ceased  to  satisfy,  and  that  his  followers,  failing  a  higher  object 
of  worship,  had  enthroned  the  founder  of  their  religion  in  the 
vacant  seat  of  God. 

In  B.C.  2,  the  Emperor  of  China  is  said  to  have  been  pre- 
sented with  a  number  of  the  sacred  books  of  Buddhism  ;  but 
not  until  a.d.  6i  did  its  roots  first  strike  in  this  Chinese  soil. 
In  that  year,  the  Emperor  Ming-ti  "  saw  in  a  vision  of  the 
night,  an  image  of  gigantic  dimensions,  resplendent  as  gold, 
its  head  surrounded  by  a  halo  as  bright  as  the  sun,  approach 
his  palace,  and  enter  it."  In  response  to  its  call,  he  sent  off 
ambassadors  to  the  West,  to  learn  all  they  could  of  this  strange 
religion.  They  returned  in  a.d.  75,  bringing  along  with  them 
an  Indian  priest,  a  sandalwood  statue  of  Buddha,  and  one 
sacred  book.  The  priest,  the  image,  the  sutra,  these  three 
planted  Buddhism  in  China,  and,  under  imperial  cultivation, 
it  flourished  apace. 

But  that  which  flourished  was  no  longer  the  Buddhism  of 
Buddha.  Every  imported  religion  gains  and  loses  by  its  new 
environment.  Each  nation  converted  to  Christianity,  for 
instance,  has  had  its  reflex  action  on  its  converter.  Chris- 
tianity varies  in  every  country  in  Europe,  and  amongst  every 
race  in  that  country.  As  wine  poured  into  a  goblet  takes  the 
shape  of  the  vessel,  so  a  religion  partakes  of  the  character  of 
the  nationality  it  converts.  Thus  is  it  likely  to  be  with 
Christianity  in  China ;  the  national  character  of  the  Chinese 
will  in  a  measure  affect  the  form  of  the  Christianity  it  receives 
— may  it  be  forbidden  to  affect  the  substance  !  So,  just  as  in 
southern  and  eastern  Europe,  the  very  wine  has  become  sadly 
mingled  with  the  previous  contents  of  the  goblet,  in  China 
also,  the  Buddhism  of  to-day  bears  but  faint  resemblance  to 
the  teachings  of  its  founder. 

Already  several  centuries  had  passed  from  its  inception  to 
its  recognition  by  the  Chinese  Emperor  Ming-ti,  and,  during 
that  period,  persecution  and  local  superstition  working  upon 
a  faulty  creed,  had  brought  it  into  a  fit  state  for  further 
decadence.  Certainly  it  introduced  to  China  a  dogma  in  regard 
to  the  future  life  more  definite  than  any  that  Confucianism 
or  Taoism  had  presented,  yet,  by  the  time  the  religion  reached 
here,  it  was  itself  so  plastic,  and  the  Chinese  so  impressive — 


THE  BUDDHJST  TRINITY 


FOREIGN  RELIGIONS— BUDDHA         277 

"  a  sea  that  salts  all  that  flows  into  it  " — that  the  transmigra- 
tion from  India  to  China  was  soon  followed  by  its  own 
metempsychosis  also.  To-day,  the  Buddhist  monk  is  typical 
of  his  religion,  a  Buddhist  surplice  without,  and  a  Chinese  body 
and  soul  within. 

Almost  aU  that  Chinese  Buddhism  now  retains  of  its 
Founder's  teaching  is  his  life  of  "  contemplation  " — which 
it  transforms  into  a  life  of  apathetic  listlessness — and  its 
pity  for  animals,  which  it  turns  into  a  grotesque  feeding 
of  sacred  pigs  or  sacred  fish,  or  the  occasional  setting 
free  of  a  basket  of  snakes,  which  had  better  far  be  killed 
and  eaten  by  the  beggar  who  caught  them  than  sold  to  the 
devout. 

Buddhism  now  is  no  longer  a  godless  religion,  as  was 
sufficiently  shown  in  Chapter  XV.  ;  for,  while  the  philo- 
sophical Buddhist  will  give  you  philosophical  names  for  the 
three  colossal  images  found  in  every  temple,  "  the  common 
people  understand  little  or  nothing  of  such  speculations. 
They  see  before  them  three  separate  deities,  they  speak  of 
and  worship,  not  a  triune  god,  but  a  triad  of  idols,  which 
they  regard  as  three  different  divinities."  Nor  is  their 
worship  confined  to  these  three.  The  eighteen  earliest 
missionaries,  or  Lo-hans,  also  receive  their  share  of  worship, 
as  do  the  four  enormous  figures  that  guard  the  entrance  of 
the  temple,  to  say  nothing  of  the  Goddess  of  Mercy,  the 
laughing  Buddha,  and  a  host  of  others. 

The  temple  is  redolent  of  smouldering  incense,  the  sacred 
lamp  burns  night  and  day,  and  the  somnolent  quiet  of  the 
place  is  disturbed, — when  disturbed  at  all, — by  nothing  save 
the  myriad  repeated  drone  of  "  Namo  Omitofu," — "  Praised 
be  Amita  Buddha."  For  verily,  in  much  speaking  and  vain 
repetitions  does  the  religion  of  the  present-day  Buddhist 
consist.  The  devotee  is  urged  to  the  monotonous  repetition 
of  this  phrase,  and  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  times 
a  day  does  it  pass  the  lips  of  the  devout,  the  beads  teUing 
their  rapid  tale  of  merit  laid  up  and  favour  gained.  Thus 
has  Shakyamuni,  who  taught  no  Divine  worship,  become  the 
chief  god  of  the  religion  he  founded. 

Again,  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis,  or  transmigration 
of  souls,  has  ceased  to  be  an  effective  doctrine  of  the  Buddhist 


278  A  MISS/ON  IN  CHINA 

cult.  In  its  place,  and  probably  under  the  influence  of 
Christianity,  the  two  states  of  heaven  and  hell  are  taught. 
To  attain  to  the  one  and  escape  the  other,  the  devotee  chants 
his,  more  often  her,  oft-recited  invocation,  offers  incense 
and  candles  before  the  images,  abstains  from  flesh  meat  for 
a  period  of  months  or  even  years,  and  makes  a  pilgrimage 
to  some  distant  temple,  if  possible  even  to  the  sacred  Isle  of 
Pootoo,  the  "  Universal  Ferry." 

Four  years  ago,  an  old  lady,  yielding  to  the  more  satisfying 
call  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  forsaking  her  idols,  put  her  trust 
in  the  living  and  loving  Father.  She  had  been  a  follower 
of  Buddha  for  tens  of  years,  and,  at  much  risk  and  expense, 
had  even  made  the  pilgrimage  in  a  Chinese  junk,  from  Wen- 
chow  to  Pootoo.  There  she  had  obtained  from  the  abbot 
the  most  precious  thing  her  hands  had  ever  held,  a  passport 
to  the  Paradise  of  the  West,  the  Buddhist  Heaven.  It  was 
in  duplicate,  one  to  be  burnt  at  her  graveside,  the  other  to 
be  enclosed  in  her  coffin.  Granted  by  Kwan-yin,  the  Goddess 
of  Mercy,  and  signed  by  the  abbot,  what  greater  assurance 
of  future  happiness  could  an  old  woman  possess !  How 
she  brought  herself  to  give  it  up  she  alone  knows,  but  the 
time  came  when  she  could  no  longer  keep  this  costly  passport 
in  the  house.  Should  she  burn  it  ?  She  would  have  done 
so,  but  her  nephew,  Mr  "  Summer,"  suggested  that  the 
missionary's  wife  would  like  to  see  this  thing,  in  which  she 
had  so  long  put  her  trust.  Gladly  she  sent  it  down  from  her 
mountain  home  to  the  city,  and  not  a  few  are  the  interested 
eyes  in  far-away  England  that  have  since  looked  upon  this 
passport  to  heaven. 

Here  then  another  great  doctrine,  the  one  that  lay  at  the 
very  foundation  of  Buddhism,  has  been  given  up.  The  one 
object  of  Shakyamuni's  life  and  teaching  was  by  morality 
and  self-discipline  to  attain  to  unconsciousness.  The  one 
object  of  the  modern  Buddhist, — when  he  has  any  beyond 
the  claims  of  the  present, — is  to  attain  to  a  conscious  and 
eternal  happiness. 

As  to  self-discipline,  and  the  code  of  morals  by  which 
Buddha  and  his  immediate  followers  hoped  to  attain  Nirvana, 
while  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  they  have  played 
a  valuable  part  in  Chinese  life,  and  that  they  do  still  in- 


FOREIGN  RELIGIONS— BUDDHA  279 

fluence  numbers  to  a  virtuous  life,  and  to  a  striving  after 
immortality,  they  do  so  in  spite  of  those  who  stand  as  en- 
samples  to  the  flock.  The  Buddhist  monk  is  immoral,  lazy, 
uneducated,  and  despised  by  the  people  upon  whom  he  preys 
for  his  profitable  prayers.  And  while  the  nuns  are  clean, 
bright-looking  and  externally  attractive,  they  are  noted 
for  their  lives  of  dishonour.  A  few  years  ago  one  of  our 
pastors,  then  unconverted,  on  going  to  seek  entry  into  a 
small  monastery,  was  asked  by  the  old  monk  why  he  came. 
"  I  want  to  learn  to  be  good,"  he  replied.  "  But  where  do 
you  find  a  good  monk?"  asked  the  old  man.  "If  you  really 
want  to  be  good,  go  and  become  a  Christian,  that's  the  best 
religion."     Our  enemies  being  judges  ! 

As  to  prayer,  Buddha  had  no  place  for  it  in  his  system. 
For  that  matter  true  prayer  is  scarcely  known  amongst  his 
soi-disant  followers  to  this  day,  but  chanting  and  invocation 
are  incessant.  The  people  hereabouts  have  not  yet  resorted 
to  merely  mechanical  means,  save  those  of  the  lips  for  re- 
petition and  the  finger  and  thumb  for  telling  the  beads.  In 
the  north,  however,  both  men  and  women  save  time  and 
labour  by  carrying  a  praying  wheel,  shaped  liked  a  drum 
with  a  pivot  through  the  middle.  Inside  the  drum  is  an 
invocation,  and  unwearyingly  it  is  twirled  and  twirled,  each 
turn  counting  as  a  call  on  Buddha.  Similar  drums  of  huge 
size  stand  by  the  roadside  for  the  passers-by  to  turn.  In  this 
manner  does  the  modern  Buddhist  relieve  his  dread  of  the 
future. 

The  monasteries  are  often  buildings  of  large  size,  those  in 
and  around  Peking  being  very  fine  structures  and  crowded 
with  monks.  Frequently  these  monasteries  are  erected  at 
a  distance  from  busy  centres,  and  amidst  lovely  surroundings. 

Visiting  some  distant  stations  a  few  months  ago  I  passed 
through  superb  mountain  scenery,  and  took  the  opportunity 
of  calling  at  several  monasteries.  Fifteen  years  ago  I  spent 
the  night  at  one  of  them,  situated  beneath  a  magnificent 
overhanging  rock.  It  was  then  in  excellent  preservation, 
now  it  is  dilapidated  and  almost  empty,  for  a  new  one  has 
recently  been  built  six  miles  south  of  the  Wenchow  city,  at 
the  foot  of  a  mountain,  and  this  has  drawn  some  of  the  monks 
away  from  other  retreats.     If  has,  moreover,  recently  be- 


28o  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

come  influential  enough  to  obtain  from  the  north  a  valuable 
copy  of  the  Buddhist  classics.  The  copy  arrived  on  board 
our  local  steamer,  accompanied  by  a  number  of  monks, 
whereupon  all  the  local  mandarins,  and  all  the  monks  in 
the  district,  went  out  in  full  dress  to  pay  honour  to  the 
classic,  and  to  escort  it  to  its  destination. 

Thus  does  the  disdainful  Confucian  officer  bow  at  the 
shrine  of  Buddha,  just  as  readily  as  he  does  at  any  and  every 
other  shrine.  He  will  recite  a  Buddhist  chant  "  as  a  sure 
cure  for  stomach  ache,"  and  call  in  the  Buddhist  priests  to 
release  his  father's  soul  from  Hades,  all  the  while  in  his 
heart  despising  the  man,  and  sneering  at  his  methods. 

The  monasteries  are  kept  up  by  endowments,  by  the 
mendicant's  bowl,  by  gifts  of  the  worshippers,  who  are  by 
no  means  numerous,  save  on  special  occasions,  and  particu- 
larly by  prayers  for  the  dead.  Both  Buddhist  and  Taoist 
monks  claim  to  have  power  to  open  the  gates  of  hell  and 
release  the  tormented  soul,  and  what  would  not  a  wife  or  a 
son  pay,  to  have  a  husband  or  father  brought  out  of  the 
dreadful  hell  that  is  so  realistically  pictured  for  them  in  the 
temples  ? 

A  few  days  ago  a  couple  of  inoffensive  converts  came  to 
ask  my  aid  in  getting  them  back  home  in  safety.  Members 
of  their  branch  of  the  clan  had  resolved  to  hold  a  Buddhist 
service  to  release  the  souls  of  their  ancestors  from  purgatory, 
where  they  had  been  undergoing  misery  for  tens  of  years. 
In  consequence  each  family  was  mulcted  in  a  given  sum.  Our 
two  converts,  who  could  not  conscientiously  pay  this  money, 
were  immediately  attacked  and  beaten,  and  had  to  run  away 
for  safety.  They  were  vtry  patient,  sought  no  reprisals, 
nothing  but  to  be  allowed  o  return  home  in  peace.  One's 
sympathies  go  with  both  parties,  with  the  converts  in  their 
sufferings,  and  with  the  pagans  in  their  ignorance.  What 
incredible  selfishness  on  the  part  of  the  Christian  to  know 
that  their  forefathers  were  enduring  the  horrors  of  pur- 
gatory, and  yet  refuse  to  give  a  small  sum  for  their 
release  !  Where  is  the  boasted  charity  of  Christianity  ! 
Where  the  love  of  fellowmen !  Such  inconsistency  is 
incomprehensible  ! 

Buddhism  has  been  persecuted,  its  temples  destroyed,  its 


FOREIGN  RELIGIONS— MAHOMET       281 

books  burnt,  thousands  of  its  monks  and  nuns  have  been 
at  various  times  compelled,  the  men  to  return  to  a  lay  life, 
the  nuns  to  marry.  Theoretically  proscribed,  it  still  remains 
an  influential  factor  in  Chinese  life.  Its  power,  however, 
is  decadent,  and,  unless  the  Japanese  bring  about  its  tem- 
porary rehabilitation,  which  is  not  greatly  to  be  feared, 
Christian  Missions  have  nothing  to  dread  from  its  influence. 
So  little  are  the  monks  and  nuns  attached  to  its  tenets  that 
were  Christianity  to  offer  them  a  modest  income  and  nothing 
to  do, — especially  the  latter, — it  is  doubtful  if  many  would 
find  conscientious  scruples  enough  to  hesitate  about  deciding. 
Many  have  stated  to  me,  as  their  sole  reason  for  not  becoming 
Christians,  that  they  have  no  other  living  to  which  to  turn  ; 
and  a  few  years  ago,  one  of  them,  looking  around  his  idols, 
said  to  me  with  a  sigh,  "  Christianity  is  true,  and  these  are 
false,  but  I  have  no  property  and  must  stay  here  and  cheat 
for  a  living." 

MoHAMMEDiSM  was  introduced  to  China,  according  to  Mussul- 
man records,  by  the  direction  of  Mohammed  himself,  he  having 
in  A.D.  628  sent  his  uncle  by  sea  as  an  envoy  to  the  Emperor 
of  China.  Mr  E.  H.  Parker  in  his  recent  book  advances 
another  account  from  Chinese  sources,  placing  its  introduction 
twenty-three  years  later,  after  the  death  of  Mohammed.  It 
is  safe  to  say  that  the  religion  was  brought  here  in  the  seventh 
century,  and  that  by  imperial  sanctions  mosques  were  built 
and  the  free  exercise  of  the  religion  granted.  Later,  tens  of 
thousands  of  Mohammedans  settled  in  the  province  of  Shensi, 
near  the  capital.  In  756,  4000  Arab  soldiers  were  sent  to 
the  aid  of  the  Chinese  Emperor  against  a  Turkish  rebel. 
These  men  married  and  settled  in  China,  and  large  numbers  of 
Turks  came  to  Chinese  ports  and  had  consuls  of  their  own.  In 
850,  120,000  Mohammedans,  Jews  and  Christians  perished 
during  a  rebellion  in  Canton.  Still  more  of  them  arrived 
during  the  succeeding  dynasty  and  settled  on  the  coast.  This 
dynasty  (the  Mongol)  annexed  the  western  province  of 
Yunnan,  in  which  the  Bible  Christian  Mission  has  now  a 
successful  work.  The  inhabitants  being  wild  and  uncivilised, 
"  the  Mongol  Emperor  appointed  Omar,  a  Mohammedan  from 
Bokhara,  to  be  the  governor.     He  invited  a  large  number  0% 


282  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

scholars  and  co-religionists  to  come  and  help  him  to  civilise  and 
convert  the  people,  which  they  did,  till  almost  the  whole  pro- 
vince became  Mohammedan."  Those  of  the  north-west 
provinces  of  Shensi  and  Kansuh  also  increased  in  numbers 
and  became  powerful. 

Little  is  heard  of  them  during  the  succeeding  Ming  dynasty, 
from  which  we  may  infer  that  they  caused  no  political  trouble, 
but  the  present  Manchu  dynasty  has  found  in  them  a  frequent 
cause  of  unrest,  and  during  the  nineteenth  century  has  in  the 
north-west  pursued  a  policy  of  repression.  "  From  1817  to 
1855,  the  Chinese  mandarins,  by  a  series  of  oppressions  and 
wholesale  massacres  of  men,  women  and  children  in  Yunnan, 
roused  the  whole  province  to  rebellion,  which  in  1863  they  put 
down  by  a  crowning  act  of  treachery,  beheading  seventeen 
Mohammedan  chiefs,  whom  they  had  invited  to  a  friendly 
council  and  banquet."  Another  rising,  into  which  the 
Mohammedans  were  subsequently  goaded,  occurred  in  the 
north-west,  which  took  twelve  years  to  suppress,  which 
suppression  was  brought  about  by  the  slaughter  and  annihila- 
tion of  great  multitudes  of  the  prophet's  followers. 

Nevertheless  there  are  still  enough  of  them  left  in  China  to 
form  a  good-sized  European  nation.  Twenty  millions  of  them 
still  hold  their  own,  between  eighteen  and  nineteen  millions  of 
whom  dwell  in  the  west  and  north-west.  There  are  a  hundred 
thousand  in  Peking  itself,  while  this  province  of  Chekiang  has 
only  a  few  small  colonies,  in  all  but  a  few  thousand  souls. 
Here  in  Wenchow  their  total  community  is  only  three  or  four 
hundred.  They  have  a  small  mosque,  but,  having  no 
efficient  superintendence,  are  lax  in  their  religious  observances. 
A  few  years  ago,  a  mollah  was  sent  down  from  Shanghai  as  a 
deputation.  He  called  on  me  and  expressed  himself  in  very 
friendly  terms  towards  Christianity.  When  scattered  abroad 
amongst  the  ordinary  people,  while  still  clannish  and  separate, 
they  are  nevertheless  orderly  and  peaceful,  and,  giving  no 
trouble  to  the  administration  and  worshipping  their  ancestors 
like  all  decent  Chinese,  they  are  allowed  freedom  of  religious 
observance  without  let  or  hindrance. 

The  Mohammedans  here,  as  in  the  west,  avoid  that  emi- 
nently Chinese  animal,  the  pig,  and  therefore  pork  is  never 
seen  on  their  tables.     We  in  this  port  owe  to  them  whatever 


FOREIGN  RELIGIONS— MAHOMET       283 

beef — diligently  toughened  by  many  years  of  ploughing — we 
are  able  to  obtain,  for,  being  deprived  of  pork  they  supply  its 
place  with  beef,  as  they  have  not  the  same  objection  to  the 
slaughter  of  the  virtuous  ox  as  the  Buddhist  and  Taoist 
societies  profess. 


XIX 

THE  FOREIGN  RELIGIONS: 
CHRISTIANITY 

"  And  He  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever :    King  of  Kings  and  Lord 
of  Lords." 

Christianity  has  had  a  much  greater  influence  on  China  than 
its  followers  generally  recognise,  for  the  progress  of  Chris- 
tianity cannot  be  estimated  by  counting  the  heads  of  its 
tabulated  converts.  It  has  a  double  influence,  individual  and 
collective,  conscious  and  unconscious,  intensive  and  diffusive. 
Our  Lord's  parable  of  the  lamp  indicates  the  diffusive  influence 
of  His  teaching,  and  of  the  exhibition  of  that  teaching  in  the 
lives  of  His  disciples.  We  count  the  heads  of  the  "  elect "  to 
form  an  idea  of  the  illuminating  force  at  work  ;  these  are  the 
"  candle  power  "  of  the  church.  They  are  elect,  not  for 
themselves  but  for  others,  just  as  a  lamp  is  not  lit  for  itself,  but 
to  diffuse  light.  So  Christianity  has  had  an  influence  not  only 
in  selecting  individuals  amongst  every  tribe  and  nation,  whose 
names  we  inscribe  on  our  registers,  but  on  a  much  wider  scale 
it  has  been  illuminating  both  nations  and  creeds  that  un- 
consciously received  it. 

Protestants,  also,  are  apt  to  date  the  introduction  of  Chris- 
tianity into  China  from  the  year  1806,  forgetting  that  Roman 
Missions  existed  here  before  the  separation  of  the  Church  into 
Catholic  and  Protestant.  Romanists  in  their  turn  are  slow  to 
remember  that  neither  was  it  they  who  introduced  Chris- 
tianity to  China,  for  the  Nestorian  branch  of  the  Church  had  a 
numerous  following  in  the  seventh  century,  and  were  ^till 
powerful  when  John  of  Monte  Corvino  arrived  five  centuries 
later. 

But  there  is  very  considerable  probability  that  Christianity 
.84 


FOREIGN  RELIGIONS— CHRISTIANITY  2d>S 

had  been  an  unrecognised  power  in  the  land  for  centuries 
before  the  advent  of  the  followers  of  the  Syrian  Nestorius. 
It  is  known  to  have  reached  India  very  early  in  its  history, 
indeed  there  is  no  sufficient  reason  to  discredit  the  tradition 
that  St  Thomas  himself  was  the  apostle  to  the  Hindus. 
Buddhism  was  then  still  somewhat  of  a  power  in  that  land  of 
its  origin  and,  as  has  been  shown,  was  being  sought  by  the 
Chinese  Emperor.  About  that  period  a  great  and  revolu- 
tionary change  took  place  in  the  Buddhist  Church,  which 
until  then  had  only  existed  in  the  form  since  known  as  the 
Hinayana  school,  but  another  school  was  at  that  time  intro- 
duced which  is  known  as  the  Mahayana,  and  it  is  this  form  of 
Buddhism  which  was  implanted  in  China.  These  terms  mean 
respectively  Lesser  Vehicle,  and  Greater  Vehicle,  the  Hinayana 
conveying  the  few  over  this  terrestrial  sea  of  sorrow  to  Nirvana, 
while  the  Mahayana  is  supposed  to  convey  the  many,  not  to 
annihilation,  but  to  Paradise. 

Now  whence  came  this  remarkable  importation,  this  verit- 
able revolution  into  Buddhism  ?  Dr  Timothy  Richard,  who 
has  made  special  inquiry  on  the  subject  assures  us  that,  in 
consequence  of  this  great  revolution,  "  Chinese  and  Japanese 
Buddhism  after  all  is  not  Buddhism  proper  but  imbedded 
Christianity."  He  further  tells  us  that  "  the  introduction  of 
Christianity  to  China  happened  thus.  In  the  first  century 
after  the  Christian  era  Ashvagosha  introduced  a  new  school  of 
thought  into  Buddhism,  called  the  Mahayana  school.  Accord- 
ing to  Chinese  and  Japanese  Buddhism,  the  former  school  of 
Buddhism — the  Hinayana  school — was  on  the  wane.  When 
the  Mahayana  was  introduced  it  flourished  ever3^vhere  through- 
out China  and  Japan.  Now  some  of  the  chief  peculiarities  of 
the  Mahayana  school  are  the  following : — Belief  in  a  God  who 
saves.  Belief  in  faith  in  this  God  as  surpassing  all  good  works. 
Belief  in  Paradise  at  once  without  rounds  of  transmigration. 
Belief  in  the  necessity  of  effort  to  save  others. 

"  The  Chinese  Buddhist  books  refer  to  this  school  as  the 
'different'  religion.  Those  who  know  original  Buddhism  will 
notice  how  different  these  doctrines  are  from  those  of 
original  Buddhism."  "  The  Buddhist  books  themselves  say 
that  they  got  these  ideas  from  Western  India."  "  The 
conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  is  that  these  Messianic  ideas 


286  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

were  transmitted  to  India  and  through  Buddhism  into  China 
and  Japan,  where  they  have  been  the  chief  forces  in  later 
Buddhism,  till  overlaid  again  with  the  deadly  weight  of 
early  Hinayana  doctrine.  So  out  of  the  hundred  milhons 
of  Buddhists  in  the  world  the  majority  are  not  Buddhists 
at  all,  but  are  holding  Christianity  in  Buddhist  garb  and 
nomenclature." 

In  Tibet,  which  is  a  stronghold  of  Buddhism,  the  revolu- 
tionary party,  led  by  Tsongkhaba  about  a.d.  1450,  adopted 
the  Mahay  ana  teaching,  and  moreover  "  adopted  the  whole 
organisation  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,"  which  organ- 
isation survives  to  the  present  day.  Hence  "  the  Buddhist 
Church  of  Tibet  has  its  popes,  cardinals,  prelates,  bishops, 
abbots,  priests,  and  nuns,"  with  "  their  infant  baptism, 
their  confirmation,  their  ordination  and  investiture,  their 
mass  for  the  dead,  litanies,  chants  and  antiphons,  rosaries, 
chaplets,  candles  and  holy  water,  processions  and  pilgrim- 
ages, saints'  days  and  fast  days  and  so  forth." 

As  to  the  influence  of  Christianity  on  Taoism,  it  has 
already  been  shown  that  a  new  and  higher  school  of  thought 
was  introduced  into  that  cult  in  the  eighth  century,  by  a 
philosopher  of  the  name  of  Lii  Tung  P'in.  He  had  been 
brought  up  in  the  midst  of  the  Nestorian  Christians  ;  and 
we  have  seen  how  he  revolutionised  for  many  the  Taoist 
religion  by  lifting  the  search  for  immortality  out  of  the  region 
of  matter  into  the  realm  of  the  soul. 

Of  the  effect  of  Christianity  on  Mohammedanism  there  is 
little  need  to  write.  Carlyle  says  "  Islam  is  definable  as  a 
confused  form  of  Christianity."  Confused  it  certainly  is, 
and  with  much  that  is  harmful  in  it,  but  what  would  it  have 
been  without  its  Old  and  New  Testament  element  ?  If  all  that 
is  is  right,  then  it  is  well  that  Mohammed  met  the  Nestorian 
priest,  who,  though  imperfectly,  taught  him  what  he  learnt 
of  Christ.  At  any  rate,  all  that  our  immediate  argument 
demands  is  the  recognition  that  the  best  doctrines  of  Moham- 
medanism are  of  Christian  origin. 

Thus,  then,  we  may  fairly  maintain  that  the  teachings 
of  the  Christian  religion  have  had  a  more  or  less  revolution- 
ising influence  on  the  religions  of  the  Orient,  and  it  is  reason- 
able to  expect  that  thereby  the  way  has  been  in  some  measure 


FOREIGN  RELIGIONS— CHRISTIANITY  2%7 

prepared  for  the  glories  that  are  yet  to  be  revealed  to  them. 
For  while  it  is  true  that  sometimes  half  a  truth  is  the  greatest 
lie,  those  who  believe  that  God  is  guiding  the  world  out  of 
darkness  into  light,  must  be  grateful  for  Truth,  even  though 
it  shine  ever  so  dimly  through  a  dull  horn  lantern  of  ignorance 
and  even  of  barbarism.  The  cross  is  the  highest  emblem 
of  Christ's  teaching  ;  therefore  wherever  we  find  voluntary 
suffering  for  the  sake  of  God  and  men  we  find  the  highest 
truth. 

But  the  success  of  the  Gospel  is  by  no  means  confined 
to  influence  upon  the  native  cults  —  that  is  a  by-product. 
It  has  what  is  much  greater,  a  direct  influence  on  individual 
life  and  character.  So  far  as  is  known  the  first  direct  apostles 
to  reach  China  were  those  early  protestants  against  the 
excessive  Mariolatry  of  the  Romish  Church,  the  Syrian 
Christians,  commonly  called  Nestorians.  Early  in  the  sixth 
century  delegates  from  that  branch  of  the  Church  traversed 
the  wilds  of  Central  Asia,  reached  the  Chinese  capital,  were 
received  at  court,  and  granted  permission  to  practise  and 
propagate  their  religion.  For  more  than  eight  centuries 
they  maintained  a  separate  existence  and  prospered,  but 
with  the  disappearance  of  the  Mongol  dynasty  we  lose  sight 
of  them.  Whether  they  lost  their  early  faith,  as  did  so 
many  of  the  Nestorian  Churches  in  the  Orient,  and  were 
absorbed  into  Buddhism,  Mohammedanism,  or  Taoism  is 
mere  matter  of  surmise,  but  as  a  separate  Church  they  dis- 
appear entirely  from  view. 

The  next  missionaries  to  arrive  were  European  priests,  to 
whom  Protestants  have  as  clear  a  claim,  if  they  care  to  make 
it,  as  have  the  present-day  Romanists,  for  these  missionaries 
came  before  the  great  separation.  The  Far  East  was  not 
wholly  ignorant  of  the  doctrines  they  came  to  proclaim, 
for  the  Nestorians  had  already  paved  the  way ;  but  with 
the  intolerance  of  that  period,  the  later  arrivals  chose  to 
treat  their  predecessors  as  heterodox,  corrupt,  and  inimical, 
so  that  instead  of  sinking  their  differences  for  the  salvation 
of  the  heathen,  they  presented  themselves  as  rival  parties  for 
the  suffrages  of  the  Empire. 

John  of  Monte  Corvino  was  the  first  to  arrive,  in  the  year 
1289.     He  had  wandered  across  the  vast  distances  of  Central 


288  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

Asia,  in  that  period  when  Europe  had  just  ceased  to  quake 
at  the  terrifying  advance  of  the  now  satiated  Tartar  con- 
querors. Glutted  with  their  spoils,  and  desirous  of  safe- 
guarding their  newly  acquired  territories,  the  Tartars, 
confronted  with  a  new  foe  in  the  Saracens,  were  ready  to 
make  friends  with  Christians,  recognising  in  them  a  common 
hatred  against  their  new  enemy.  It  was  in  this  fortunate 
hour  that  John  of  Monte  Cor  vino  reached  the  Court  of  the 
Great  Khan,  was  welcomed,  and  granted  permission  to 
disseminate  his  doctrines.  Deserved  success  followed  his 
devoted  labours.  Two  churches  were  built  by  him  in  the 
capital,  "  where  he  performed  service  with  all  the  pomp  of 
the  Catholic  ceremonial.  He  trained  a  large  number  of 
Tartars  to  chant,  and  the  emperor  became  fond  of  coming 
to  hear  them."  In  1305  he  writes,  "  I  have  not  for  twelve 
years  received  any  intelligence  either  from  the  court  of  Rome, 
or  from  our  own  order,  and  I  am  entirely  ignorant  of  the 
state  of  affairs  in  the  West."  In  1308  three  other  mission- 
aries succeeded  in  reaching  him,  and  in  1312  still  three  more 
were  sent,  all  of  whom  lived  on  the  bounty  of  the  emperor. 
John  of  Monte  Corvino  died  in  1328  when  eighty  years  of 
age,  having  "  converted  more  than  thirty  thousand  infidels, 
during  his  long  and  laborious  mission."  His  success,  how- 
ever, had  been  almost  entirely  amongst  the  Tartars,  who 
were  at  that  time  the  rulers  of  China.  Not  long  after  his 
death  the  Tartars  were  driven  from  power,  and  in  the  strife 
and  slaughter  which  followed  all  the  missionaries  lost  their 
lives,  and  the  fires  they  had  so  courageously  lighted  were 
utterly  extinguished. 

The  second  period  of  Catholic  propaganda  in  China  dates 
from  the  period  of  the  Reformation.  In  1552  Francis 
Xavier  sought  the  shores  of  this  mighty  empire.  No  longer 
was  it  necessary  to  traverse  the  barren  and  hostile  lands  of 
Central  Asia,  for  Vasco  de  Gama  had  doubled  the  Cape, 
and  Portuguese  influence  was  asserting  itself  throughout 
the  Far  East.  Hindered  in  his  progress  by  the  jealousy  of 
the  Portuguese  Governor  of  Malacca,  Xavier  was  never 
permitted  to  do  more  than  gaze  upon  the  shores  that  his 
feet  longed  to  press,  and  from  which  he  rendered  up  his  soul 
to  God. 


FOREIGN  RELIGIONS— CHRISTIANITY  2^9 

Other  unsuccessful  attempts  were  made  to  enter  these 
closed  doors,  and  it  was  not  until  1582  that  Matteo  Ricci, 
with  indomitable  courage  and  an  adroitness  that  surpassed 
even  that  of  the  Chinese,  succeeded  in  finally  laying  the 
foundation  of  his  church,  first  in  the  province  of  Canton, 
then  in  Nanking,  and  later  in  the  imperial  capital.  A 
typical  Jesuit,  he  became  all  things  to  all  men,  and  by  his 
diplomatic  address,  and  his  skill  in  clock-making  and  as- 
tronomy, won  his  way  into  the  favour  of  the  emperor  himself. 
With  the  fall  of  this,  the  Ming  dynasty,  in  the  following 
century,  the  Church  was  only  preserved  from  being  over- 
whelmed in  the  general  debacle  by  the  ability  of  Adam  Schaal, 
who  through  his  astronomical  knowledge  and  his  skill  in 
casting  cannon,  became  a  favourite  with  the  emperor  of 
the  new,  that  is  to  say  the  present  Ts'ing  dynasty,  as  also 
did  Verbiest  in  the  following  reign  by  similar  manifestation 
of  ability. 

The  Romish  missionaries  of  the  seventeenth  century  had  a 
brilliant  opportunity  of  winning  over  the  whole  Empire,  but 
disputes  soon  arose  amongst  their  various  orders,  first  over  the 
term  for  God,  and  also  inter  alia  over  the  question  of  ancestral 
worship.  The  disputes  were  referred  both  to  the  Pope  and  to 
the  Emperor,  and  when  ultimately  the  Papal  bull  arrived, 
directly  opposing  the  ruling  of  the  Emperor  K'ang-hsi,  such 
was  the  offence  it  gave  to  that  puissant  monarch  that  hind- 
rance, persecution  and,  in  1724,  proscription  followed.  From 
then  until  the  period  following  the  Treaty  of  1842,  persecution 
mostly  of  a  moderate  nature  resulted,  but  despite  many  hard- 
ships and  even  dangers,  many  priests,  secretly  visited  the 
converts,  and  by  this  means  kept  alive  the  faith  of  their  people. 
In  consequence,  when  the  Treaty  of  1858,  granting  liberty  of 
worship,  was  signed,  the  Catholics  were  able  to  claim  a  total 
community  of  over  three  hundred  thousand  people.  Their 
returns  for  1903-4  show  803,000  baptised  converts,  306,700 
unbaptised  catechumens,  with  42  bishops,  1062  foreign  priests, 
and  493  ordained  native  priests.  They  have  also  many  nuns 
at  work,  and  are  the  owners  of  much  valuable  property. 

The  Protestant  Church  did  not  enter  upon  the  field 
until  the  year  1806,  nor  can  it  be  seriously  blamed  for  the  long 
delay.  The  two  centuries  which  succeeded  that  separatioij 
T 


290  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

from  Rome  which  saved  Christianity  both  to  Rome  and  to  the 
world,  were  occupied  with  much  recasting  of  creeds,  and 
much  strugghng  for  freedom  from  the  shackles  that  the 
prisoners,  though  escaped,  had  not  yet  been  able  to  shake  off. 
Afterwards,  odium  theologicum  had  its  natural  result  in  a 
period  of  indifference,  which  it  required  a  Wesley  to  end. 
To  Wesley  is  due  our  modern  Mission  Work,  and  to-day  the 
world  has  indeed  become  his  parish,  even  though  workers  may 
call  themselves  by  other  names  than  his. 

Robert  Morrison  arrived  in  Canton  in  1806.  As  previously 
shown,  his  first  endeavour,  after  learning  the  language  and 
compiling  a  dictionary,  was  to  translate  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
Let  it  not  be  thought,  however,  that  he  was  content  to  live  the 
life  of  a  recluse.  Faithfully  did  he  bear  witness,  as  oppor- 
tunity presented,  to  the  truth  whose  propagation  in  China  he 
had  espoused. 

In  process  of  time  others  joined  him  from  England  and 
America.  Tracts  were  printed,  Testaments  issued,  and  the 
interior  of  the  land  being  denied  them,  earnest  men  seized 
every  opportunity  for  carrying  these  books  along  the  coast 
in  trading  vessels,  and  distributing  them  in  the  various  towns 
called  at,  in  the  hope  that  the  printed  page  might  penetrate 
further  than  could  their  few  weak  voices. 

The  first  decades  of  the  century  passed  with  little  visible 
result.  More  missionaries  died  than  converts  were  made. 
Man  after  man  fell  at  his  post,  with  nothing  but  divine  hope  to 
irradiate  his  dying  bed,  for  of  actual  fruit  he  saw  little.  In 
1842,  after  nearly  forty  years  of  labour,  the  total  church  con- 
sisted of  six  communicants.  Nor  can  we  wonder  that  men  of 
degenerate  spiritual  character,  ignorant  or  heedless  of  the 
amazing  facts  of  history,  should  deride  the  folly  of  these 
missionary  adventurers,  who  with  no  temporal  advantages  to 
offer,  came  to  the  most  practical  people  in  the  world,  bringing 
a  mere  theory  as  their  sole  stock-in-trade.  It  is  incredible 
that  so  little  should  win  so  much,  and  herein,  to  the  willing 
mind,  is  clearly  revealed  the  wisdom  of  God  and  the  power  of 
God. 

By  degrees  here  one  and  there  another  was  touched  into 
newness  of  life  by  the  magnetic  finger  of  the  truth,  and  five 
years  before  the  Treaty  of  1858,  which  opened  the  ports  and 


FOREIGN  RELIGIONS— CHRISTIANITY  291 

even  the  interior  to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  the  six  com- 
municants had  increased  to  350,  and  the  number  of  mission- 
aries to  a  hundred  and  twenty  or  thirty.  By  the  year  1877, 
when  the  first  great  Conference  met,  the  350  had  grown  to 
13,515  communicants,  representing  a  community  of  treble 
that  number  of  the  population.  A  by  no  means  despicable 
record  this,  considering  the  constant  opposition,  and  often 
bitter  persecution,  that  had  barred  the  way  of  the  infant 
Church  ! 

From  that  day  it  has  never  looked  back.  Even  the  virul- 
ence of  persecution  has  but  added  its  weight  to  the  sincerity  of 
our  converts,  in  leading  all  classes  of  society  to  enquire  into 
this  new  and  strange  doctrine.  When  the  second  Conference 
met  in  1890,  thirteen  years  after  the  first,  the  number  of 
communicants  had  increased  to  nearly  40,000  (actually 
37.287). 

The  latest  statistics  show  still  more  remarkable  progress, 
and  this  notwithstanding  the  cruel  sufferings  of  1900,  and  the 
martyrdom  of  Protestant  Christians,  estimated  at  30,000 
during  that  awful  year.  They  indicate  that  there  are  now  in 
China  nearly  150,000  communicants,  figures  that,  encourag- 
ing though  they  are,  by  no  means  represent  the  full  progress  of 
the  work.  For,  in  addition  to  the  communicants,  must  be 
reckoned  adherents  and  the  young,  whereupon  we  find  a  body 
of  at  least  half  a  million  Protestant  Christians  in  this  country, 
all  of  them  in  regular  attendance  at  the  services.  This  is  the 
fruit  of  one  century's  work,  and  that  the  first  and  therefore 
most  difficult. 

Nor  is  this  all.  Great  numbers,  who  do  not  yet  profess 
Christianity,  are  being  daily  enlightened  in  school  and  college, 
in  hospital  and  dispensary,  in  village  and  city  church,  by 
evangelist  and  colporteur,  by  tract  and  scripture,  by  high 
class  literature  and  able  magazine,  but,  best  of  all,  by  the 
daily  light  shed  through  living  lamps  lit  by  the  Lord's  own 
illumination. 

Altering  slightly  the  words  of  Dr  Eitel,  "  it  took  Buddhism 
three  hundred  years  before  it  obtained  official  recognition, 
and  many  centuries  more  before  the  mass  of  the  people  were 
influenced  by  it  "  ;  it  took  the  powerful  organisation  of  the 
Roman  Church  quite  as  long  to  reach  its  present  figures. 


292  A  MISSION  IN  CHINA 

"  Who  then  will  speak  of  the  failure  of  Protestant  Missions, 
which  during  the  first  century  of  their  operations  have 
gathered  half  a  million  converts  into  the  Christian  Church," 
despite  open  opposition  and  secret  intrigue,  despite  pillage, 
riot,  barbarity,  murder  and  massacre,  despite  the  worst  foes  a 
man  can  have,  "  those  of  his  own  household  ?  " 

Towards  these  figures  our  own  Mission  in  Wenchow  has  had 
the  privilege,  during  the  quarter  of  a  century  of  its  existence, 
of  gathering  in  2200  communicants,  and  6000  probationers, 
giving  a  total  with  children  of  approaching  10,000  souls,  a 
people  upon  whom,  dwelling  in  darkness  and  the  shadow  of 
death,  the  light  has  shone,  and  through  whom  it  throws  a 
never  ceasing  radiance  upon  the  darkness  of  the  pagan  life 
and  the  dreariness  of  the  pagan  tomb. 

To  sum  up,  then,  the  success  of  Christianity  can  not  be 
measured  by  the  number  of  its  confessed  converts.  It  has  an 
influence  reaching  far  beyond  the  dreams  of  the  enthusiast. 
It  permeates  not  only  individual  members  of  the  race,  but 
alters  the  very  tenets  of  the  native  faiths.  Mohammed 
gathered  his  best  teachings  from  Christ ;  modern  Buddhism 
in  its  best  form — the  Mahayana  school — is  not  Buddhism,  but 
a  phase,  however  blurred,  of  Christianity;  Taoism,  perhaps  the 
most  popular  religion  of  China,  has  its  Christianised  school ; 
while  Brahminism  has  undergone,  and  is  still  undergoing, 
revolutionary  modification  through  the  dominating  influence 
of  Christian  light. 

It  may  be  that  the  Universality  of  Christian  truth  wiU  come 
about  as  much  by  internal  evolution  in  the  various  schools  of 
the  world  as  by  the  conversion  of  individual  believers.  It 
may  be  that  all  the  best  representatives  of  these  schools  will 
be  called  out  therefrom  and  idolatry  fall  by  a  process  of  natural 
decay.  It  may  be  that  there  will  yet  come  a  great  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  temples  of  idols  become  with  one 
mighty  revolution  Temples  of  God.  Be  the  method  what  it 
may,  the  result  must  be  the  same,  and  Christ  become  the 
moral  and  spiritual  Lord  of  humanity,  for  there  has  been  none 
so  worthy  nor  can  the  human  mind  imagine  another  to  surpass 
Him,  Son  of  God  and  Son  of  Man,  Glory  of  God  and  Glory  of 
Man. 

Let  it  be  our  sufficient  "  calj "  that  the  Chinaman  knows 


FOREIGN  RELIGIONS— CHRISTIANITY  29^ 

not  the  "  peace  that  passeth  understanding,"  yet  needs  it ; 
that  he  has  not  heard  of,  much  less  experienced,  "  joy  in  God," 
naught  indeed  save  fear  ;  that  he  has  never  heard  of  the 
"  upward  glancing  of  the  eye,"  save  in  dread  ;  that  he  has  no 
immediate  "  hope  of  heaven,"  only  a  fearful  expectation  of  at 
least  a  preliminary  darkness  and  horror  ;  that  he  has  no  com- 
fort in  sorrow  or  bereavement,  no  spirit  of  prayer  or  knowledge 
of  its  delight  and  power,  no  spiritual  fellowship  or  helpful 
communion,  and,  indeed,  none  of  that  priceless  inheritance 
which  transforms  religion  from  a  galling  bondage  into  a  glad 
and  glorious  liberty,  both  in  regard  to  the  life  that  now  is  and 
that  which  is  to  come.  Let  this  be  our  sufficient  call ;  the 
command  of  our  Master  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as 
thyself,"  our  sufficient  stimulus  ;  and  joy  in  bringing  in  His 
kingdom  our  sufficient  reward. 


BW8220  .S71 

A  typical  mission  in  China  ... 

Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00045  3730 


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